The Works Of Ibn Wāḍiḥ Al Yaʿqūbī

The Works of Ibn Wadih al-Ya‘qubi

Volume 1

Islamic History and
Civilization

STUDIES AND TEXTS

Editorial Board
Hinrich Biesterfeldt
Sebastian Giinther
Honorary Editor

Wadad Kadi

VOLUME 152/1

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ihc

The Works of
Ibn Wadih al-Ya‘qubi

An English Translation

VOLUME 1

Edited by

Matthew S. Gordon
Chase F. Robinson
Everett K. Rowson

Michael Fishbein

LEIDEN | BOSTON

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Contents

VOLUMEI

Acknowledgements vii
Listof Contributors 1x

Introduction 1
Matthew S. Gordon

Ibn Wadih al-Ya‘qubi: A Biographical Sketch 9
Sean Anthony and Matthew S. Gordon

Manuscripts, Printed Editions, and Translations of al-Ya'gūbīs Works 23
Everett K. Rowson

The Book of the Adaptation of Men to Their Time and Their
Dominant Characteristics in Every Age (Mushakalat al-nas
li-zamanihim wa-mā yaglibu ‘alayhim fi kull ‘asr) 29

The Geography (Kitab al-Buldan) 6i
Fragments 201

Fragments from the Lost Part of the Geography 203

Fragments from Other Works 208

New Fragments 218

Passages Attributed to al-Ya‘qubi in Ibn al-Dāya, Kitab al-Mukafa'a
wa-Husn al-Uqba 225

oou»

General Bibliography 235

VOLUME 2

The History (Tarikh)
Adam to Pre-Islamic Arabia 259

VI
VOLUME 3

The History (Tarikh)
The Rise of Islam to the Reign of al-Mutamid 595

Indices 1295

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

We extend our deepest appreciation to Dr. Lawrence Conrad for his friendship,
scholarly example, and leadership in the project through its first years. We
would be badly remiss in not acknowledging his vital contribution, not only
in helping to launch the project but, again, in guiding it through its first stages.

The original contributors included Drs. Camilla Adang and Lutz Richter-
Bernberg, and we would thank both of them for their initial participation. Dr.
Andrew Marsham—now a Reader in Classical Arabic Studies at the University
of Cambridge—participated, as a doctoral candidate at the Oriental Institute,
in our meetings at the University of Oxford. Our thanks go to him for keeping
invaluable minutes of the meetings and in contributing to their organization.
Dr. Hans Hinrich Biesterfeldt provided expert advice regarding the section on
the Greeks in the History. Many colleagues, the majority in the fields of Arabic,
Islamic, and Middle Eastern studies, responded over many years to numerous
queries on H-Mideast-Medieval, via email, and in person. We are grateful to
one and all and regret only that we cannot acknowledge each of these persons
individually.

The editorial team wishes also to express deepest appreciation to the Nation-
al Endowment for the Humanities for its support of this project. Our conviction
is that this project reflects precisely the NEH’s contribution to the intellectual
and cultural life of the United States and, indeed, the global community, and
at a moment in history when communication across cultural, religious and
regional divisions is so pressingly important.

We also extend lasting thanks to Maurits van den Boogert, Pieter te Velde,
and the staff of Brill Publishing, for their invaluable role in this project. Our
thanks go also to Alan Hartley for meticulously proofreading the text, and to
Jacqueline Pitchford for preparing the index.

Finally, to the contributors who remained with the project to its comple-
tion—Drs. Leila Asser, Paul Cobb, Elton Daniel, Fred Donner, Sidney Griffith,
and Wadad Kadi—here, finally, are your contributions in print. Our apprecia-
tion to each of you can only fall short of what is due.

The Editors
If I might add a personal note, I am, first of all, deeply grateful to my three

co-editors, Drs. Robinson, Rowson, and Fishbein. Each in turn contributed
immeasurably to the completion of this project. Dr. Robinson, to whom I

VIII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

turned early on for support and ideas, has provided these on a consistent basis
over the many years. He not only contributed one section of the translation of
the Ta'rikh but also served as a wise and generous host to our meetings at the
Oriental Institute at the University of Oxford. Dr. Rowson has been a constant
source of guidance, both on the editorial front and in grappling with myriad
questions of Arabic translation. He also played a critical part in handling the
trickiest section of the Ta’rikh, Ibn Wadih's account of the transmission of
Greek-language material. And, without the participation of Dr. Fishbein, I very
much doubt the project would have reached a successful conclusion. At several
late and critical points in the project, he took on the translation of sections of
the Tarīkh as well as the Mushakala. I also very much appreciate his part in
translating the short but valuable anecdotes, attributed to Ibn Wadih, from Ibn
al-Daya's Mukafa‘a. His skills as editor, translator, and scholar of early Islamic
history and letters inform every page of this project.

Lasting thanks as well to my colleagues in the Department of History at
Miami University. I am especially grateful to Drs. Allen Winkler, Charlotte
Goldy, Carla Pestana and Wietse de Boer—each of whom served in turn as chair
of the department over the past two decades—and their patient backing for my
work on this project. Dr. Andrew Cayton, who probably heard more about the
project than he deserved, will forever be missed by us all.

Finally, the members of my family— Susan, Jeremiah and Katharine—will
no doubt share my relief and astonishment that the project is finally complete.
To Susan there is no expression of gratitude appropriate enough for these many
years of encouragement, companionship, and love.

Matthew S. Gordon

List of Contributors

The Geography (Kitab al-Buldan)
(Pagination Based on Leiden Edition of 1892)

Contributor Topics/Regions

232-308 Elton Daniel Baghdad, Samarra, Iran and the East,
governors of Khurasan.

308-373 Paul M. Cobb Iraq, Arabia, Syria, Egypt, North Africa, and
al-Andalus

Fragments

Paul M. Cobb, Matthew S. Gordon, Michael Fishbein

The Book of the Adaptation of Men to Their Time and Their
Dominant Characteristics in Every Age

(Mushākalat al-nās li-zamanihim wa-mā yaglibu 'alayhim fi kull
agr)

Michael Fishbein

The History (Tarīkh)

Contributor Historical period/topics

VOLUME I (ed. Leiden)
(pagination based on the Houtsma [Leiden] edition)

2-89 Sidney H. Griffith Adam, Old Testament Prophets, Israelites,
Jesus, Ancient Near Eastern Kings.

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

(cont.)
Contributor Historical period/topics
90-106 Michael Fishbein Kings of India.
106-204 Lutz Richter- The Greeks, Greek and Roman Kings.
Bernburg, Everett
K. Rowson, Michael
Fishbein
204-246 Lawrence I. Conrad Kings of China, Egypt, North Africa,
Ethiopia and Yemenite Kings of al-Hira.
246-315 Lawrence I. Conrad, Kinda War to the pre-Islamic Arabs.
Michael Fishbein
VOLUME II (ed. Leiden)
2—98 Michael Fishbein Introduction, the Prophet Muhammad (to
his son Ibrahim).
98-186 Fred Donner The Prophet Muhammad (cont.) and the
Caliphs Abū Bakr and ‘Umar.
186-303 Wadad Kadi The Caliphs Uthmān and Alī, and the
(al-Qadi) Umayyad Caliphate to Mu‘awiya 11.
303-403 Chase F. Robinson The Marwanid (Umayyad) Caliphs to
Ibrahim ibn al-Walid.
403 Matthew S. Gordon, Ibrahim ibn al-Walid
Michael Fishbein
404-524 Layla Asser, Matthew Marwan r1 (Umayyad Caliphate) to Hārūn
S. Gordon al-Rashid (‘Abbasid Caliphate)
524-625 Matthew S. Gordon Al-Amin to al-Mu'tamid (‘Abbasid

Caliphate).

Introduction: The Ya‘qubi Translation Project

Matthew S. Gordon

Given the early date of the works of Ibn Wadih al-Ya‘qubi (fl. late third/ninth
century) and their remarkable historiographic value, the decision to translate
them came easily.! The execution of the project, however, has been over two
decades in the making. It is with relief, gratitude, and a bit of wonder that we
bring it to fruition.

The Ya‘qubi Translation Project began as correspondence in 1994 with Law-
rence (Larry) Conrad, then at the Wellcome Institute in London. To my inno-
cent proposal to translate al-Ya'gūbīs Ta'rikh (History), Dr. Conrad gently re-
sponded that even a seasoned Arabist would find it a daunting task. We soon
decided to invite a small group of colleagues to take part in a collaborative
project to translate all that survived of al-Ya‘qubi’s oeuvre. This includes not
only the Ta'rikh, but also his work of geography, the Kitab al-Buldan (The Book
of Countries), a short political essay, the Mushakalat al-nas li-zamanihim (The
Book of Adaptation of Men to Their Time), and a set of short fragments scattered
across various later medieval Arabic-language works. Dr. Conrad and I divided
the texts into manageable sections and assigned them to our collaborators.

To kick start the project, we held three meetings, each in conjunction with
the annual gathering of the Middle East Studies Association (1997, 1998, and
1999). Two further meetings of the editors and contributors followed in July
2001 and 2002; these were held in Oxford University, with financial support
from the British Academy. In 2003, we were pleased to receive a generous five-
year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Changes in editorial leadership occurred thereafter. Dr. Chase Robinson,
who first joined the project as a contributor, agreed to become a co-editor
in 2000. Following the departure of Dr. Conrad from the project in 2006, Dr.
Everett Rowson agreed to replace him. Finally, in 2008, Dr. Michael Fishbein
accepted our invitation to serve as copy editor, and subsequently assumed
responsibility for the final draft of three sections of the Ta’rikh as well as a new
translation of the Mushakala. The completion of the project is due in largest
measure to the contributions of Drs. Rowson and Fishbein in this later phase
of the project.

1 Iam grateful to Drs. Fishbein and Robinson for their close comments on a draft of this
introduction.

© KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2018 | DOI: 10.1163/9789004364141, 002

2 GORDON

The aim of the project was clearly stated from the start, that is, to serve
two groups of readers. In the first group are scholars in related fields who, in
most cases, are unable to read al-Ya‘qubi in the original Arabic. These include
historians of Late Antiquity; scholars whose work treats regions neighboring
the premodern Islamic world (for example, Armenia and the Caucasus region,
Central Asia, India, Saharan Africa, and southern Europe); and world histori-
ans, concerned as they are with broad, hemispheric trends. We also hope that
the translation will benefit historians and other scholars conducting compara-
tive study from outside the fields of Arabic and Islamic studies—for example,
on the formation of dominant religious communities; the shaping and decline
of empire; or the role played by complex urban centers in premodern history.
Al-Ya‘qubi’s interests being so broad, we do not doubt that historians will find
much to draw on from his writings.

The second group of readers consists of students of early Near Eastern
and Islamic history. An increasing number of colleges and universities offer
degree programs in Middle East and Islamic studies at the undergraduate and
graduate levels. Many more offer courses in these areas within departments of
history, political science, religious studies, and other fields. Those of us who
teach Middle Eastern, Arab, and Islamic history rely on texts in translation
(from Arabic as well as the many other languages of the Near East and Islamic
worlds), but are often faced with the difficulty of locating material that is
both compelling and accessible. Students often struggle with the ornate and
intricate styles that are characteristic of much of early Arabic/Islamic prose. A
virtue of al-Ya'qübi's writing is his direct, unadorned language; a well-annotated
translation of his works should find a ready audience in our students.

Interest in the translation of al-Ya‘qubi's writings was sparked in part by the
eager welcome met by the translation of al-Tabari’s History, which was com-
pleted in 2007 and has become an invaluable resource for scholars and students
alike.? We trust that the works of al-Ya‘qubi—a slightly earlier contemporary
whose approach and background contrast with those of al-Tabari—will prove
a useful complement.

Al-Ya‘qubi and His Writings
Ibn Wadih al-Ya'qübi appears only rarely in the Islamic biographical literature:

a detailed account of his life cannot be written. Although no secure death

2 Please see the Bibliography for a full citation.

INTRODUCTION 3

date can be established, it seems likely that he died shortly after 295/908. The
biographical essay contained in this volume treats the available information,
including invaluable references by Ibn Wadih himself. Here it suffices to point
out that al-Ya‘qubi was of notable Iraqi birth and education, and that he spent
much of his professional life in the employment of provincial governing fami-
lies of the late third/ninth-century ‘Abbasid empire. His own statements indi-
cate that he worked in Armenia, perhaps at an early point in his career, and
that he took up subsequently with the Tahirid family in the Iranian province of
Khurasan. We have no direct evidence, but it seems that Ibn Wadih then made
his way to Egypt following the fall of the Tahirids around 258/872. There he lent
his skills to the administration of the Tūlūnid state (254—292/868—905), which
was among the first autonomous regional dynasties to challenge the ‘Abbasid
state, founded roughly a century earlier.

The content and style of the Ta’rikh and the Kitab al-Buldan bespeak a busy
life of travel and service on the part of a cosmopolitan scholar and impe-
rial bureaucrat, an impression that is strengthened by indirect evidence con-
tained in what was apparently an independent work on fragrances (the frag-
ments of which are included in our translation). The two major works pro-
vide exceptional detail on matters provincial (for example, his accounts on
late first/seventh and early second/eighth-century Armenia and third/ninth-
century Egypt) and metropolitan (for example, his descriptions of early Bagh-
dad and Samarra, the two capitals of the ‘Abbasid empire). Our sense of the
physical and socio-political fabric of the early Islamic Near East is enhanced
immeasurably by his writings.

That later Muslim biographers say little about al-Ya‘qubi likely relates to
the early fate of his books: while scholars of subsequent generations made
use of the Buldan—lIbn al-‘Adim in the seventh/thirteenth century is a case
in point—Ibn Wadih’s History appears to have mostly fallen into oblivion; the
meager manuscript tradition is discussed in the accompanying essay. This may
have had to do with his sectarian identity. Al-Ya‘qubi’s religious views were
clearly Shrite, but they seem to conform neither to the Imami Shiite tradition
that would prevail later, nor to what would become the Zaydi Shrite tradition.
Sean Anthony, in an essay published in al-Usur al-Wusta (2016), argues con-
vincingly that Ibn Wadih likely held to a relatively hard-line theological view
that was in conflict with a quietist, proto-Imami viewpoint then predominant
in Iraqi cities. Writing as he did before ‘classical’ Shi‘ism crystallized, al-Ya‘qubi
held religious views that later Muslims likely found difficult to categorize.

3 For the full citation, please see the Bibliography in this volume.

4 GORDON

Because his History is a digest that only rarely contains unique informa-
tion, it may also be the case that it was considered expendable by scholars
and scribes of the Arabic/Islamic historiographical tradition. Paradoxically, the
limited circulation of his work may also have been a function of his cosmopoli-
tanism: his geographical and historical coverage is as wide as his accounts
of Islamic history can be selective and succinct. The breadth of his vision is
clear from the History and Geography, as it is from his minor works, both pre-
served (the likely volume on fragrances and aromatics) and lost (a history of
the Byzantines and an account of the Arab conquest of North Africa).

The Ta’rikh (History)

The text, of which we possess two manuscripts, is a universal chronicle con-
sisting of two parts: a pre-Islamic section covering a variety of empires and
peoples that is primarily sequential in organization, and an Islamic-era section
that tracks the history of the Islamic polity from the prophet Muhammad's day
until roughly 259/872-873.

Dr. Rowson discusses the two closely related manuscripts in the essay con-
tained in this volume. Each—one from Cambridge, the other from Manches-
ter—is missing the title page and introductory material; in its present form,
each begins with Adam and Eve already on the scene, but it is safe to assume
that the text originally began with Creation. It then treats the Patriarchs and
Prophets of ancient Israel, followed by an account of Jesus and the Apostles.
(Previous translations of the sections dealing with ancient Israel and Jesus are
now obsolete in several respects.) Subsequent portions of the History treat
Assyria, Babylon, and India; the Greek and Persian Empires, including valu-
able comments on the transmission of Greek philosophical, medical, and other
texts; various other regions and their dominant communities (Turks, Chinese,
Egyptians, Berbers, and Abyssinians); and, finally, a portion on the pre-Islamic
Arabs that includes comments on the Arabs as the progeny of Abraham's son
Ismail (Ishmael).

The presence of this material underscores the value of Ibn Wadih’s work
to historians working in a variety of fields. For one thing, al-Ya‘qubi does pre-
serve unique material; for example, the Biblical passages appear to have come
directly from then available Syriac texts. For another, the History reflects an
ambitious cosmopolitan view of history. Nothing in what survives of the con-
temporaneous Christian world approaches the History in its command of an-
cient and late antique history; the quantity of direct quotations from Jewish,
Christian and Greek texts is striking. And, from early medieval Islamic letters,

INTRODUCTION 5

only the work of ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Mas'udi (d. c. 345/956), the well-known
Baghdadi polymath, compares favorably with that of al-Ya'gūbī in this regard.

The second half of the History contains a concise narrative of Islamic and
Middle Eastern history, beginning with a biography of the Prophet Muham-
mad and proceeding with his immediate successors (the so-called ‘Rashidun’
caliphs, a designation that does not occur, however, anywhere in these texts),
followed by the Umayyad and ‘Abbasid rulers to about 259/873. Throughout, al-
Ya'qübi follows a fairly consistent scheme: he begins with each ruler's accession
and (often) the horoscope for the date of accession, then provides a brief nar-
rative of the major events of his reign; the circumstances of the caliph’s death;
a list of the major officials and religious scholars active during his reign; and a
brief assessment of his character and male progeny. Ibn Wadih’s employment of
horoscopes ought not be viewed as a bow to superstition; instead, it reflects—
and, perhaps, champions—the broad cultural tastes of his still Late Antique
readership.

As an example of caliphal history, there is nothing extraordinary about the
work, although the author was certainly a gifted digester. But compared to
those who followed him in this form—such later authors as Ibn al-‘Imrani
(d. 580/1184) and ‘Ali ibn Anjab ibn al-Sāī (d. 674/1276) can be cited among
other medieval and premodern writers—he succeeds in covering an astonish-
ing amount of political history. This is why the text ought to be so useful for
students with little background in Islamic and Arab history: within a historio-
graphic tradition that was frequently prolix and complex, the History delivers
a coherent and concise narrative of the early Islamic period.

Ibn Wadih distinguishes himself from other historians in a number of re-
spects. As already suggested, he proposes a Shi'ite reading of Islamic history,
which is made clear in his accounts of the Prophet's life and the First Civil
War of 656—661, and especially so in his generous obituaries of the descen-
dants of the Prophet's son-in-law and cousin, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib. History here, as
elsewhere, both describes and prescribes. And, unlike most contemporaneous
historians, al-Ya'gūbī also dispenses with the chains of transmission and the
multiple, overlapping and/or inconsistent accounts that are so characteristic
of the prevailing traditionalist historiography, exemplified by al-Tabari him-
self. The only gesture towards expertise and indication of his Islamic source
material comes in a brief bibliography, which stands at the beginning of the
Islamic section of the Ta’rikh. The result is an altogether clearer authorial voice.
Finally, we have already noted his broad vision of history and culture. A single
example suffices: premodern Muslim learned men were no more comfortable
with astronomy than were premodern rabbis, and thus al-Ya'gūbīs inclusion of
the caliphs' horoscopes suggests a readership beyond the religious elite. Top-

6 GORDON

ics such as these—the author's Shīite sympathies, his method, and intended
audience—deserve further investigation.

The Kitab al-Buldan (Geography)

As indicated by the available Arabic editions (Leiden, 1892, and Beirut, 1988),
and a partial French translation by Gaston Wiet (Cairo, 1937), we possess only
an incomplete version of the work. S. Maqbul Ahmad and André Miquel have
situated the text in the formative period of Arabic geographical scholarship.5
Arab/Islamic geography, as a body of knowledge and praxis, emerged in the
second/eighth century, and retained its vitality from that point on in all lan-
guages of theIslamic realm into the premodern period. The rise of geographical
writing in Arabic isto be situated againstthe backdrop of the multivalent trans-
mission of ancient Greek, Pahlavi, and Sanskrit writings. That process probably
began, in the case of the Sanskrit texts, through Pahlavi, and in the case of the
Greek, through Syriac. It did so in the late Umayyad and early ‘Abbasid period—
the middle decades of the second/eighth century—in large measure through
patronage offered by the caliphal court.

Mathematical geography likely appeared first, with the translation and
adaptation of Ptolemy's Geography. The development of a more practical or
applied “administrative geography” can be tied to the concerns of ‘Abbasid
imperial governance. Ibn Wadib's text is among the exemplars of this trend,
along with the works of Ibn Khurdadhbih, al-Istakhri, Ibn Hawgal, and al-
Maqgdisi (Mugaddasī). Of particular concern to Ibn Wadih would have been to
provide his fellow regional functionaries with the kind of information required
to carry out their administrative duties. In this sense, the Buldan is properly
described as an ‘imperial’ digest. Composed perhaps in the final decade or so of
the third/ninth century, by which time the author may have been in residence
in Egypt, it provides detailed (if formulaic) descriptions of the major towns
and cities of the contemporary ‘Abbasid Empire and the chief features of the
principal routes linking one population center to the next. The text comments
on distances; agricultural infrastructure, production, and yield; local crafts and
products; and the religious and ethnic composition of local populations.

The Buldan thus offers much practical data, and Ibn Wadih’s eye for detail
is impressive. To cite one example, his description of Samarra (the ‘Abbasid

4 IwishtothankDr.Jean-Charles Ducéne for his helpful comments on al-Ya*gūbī as geographer.
5 Forfullcitations, please see the Bibliography in this volume.

INTRODUCTION 7

capital for much of the third/ninth century) reads as if one were led by its
author on a walking tour of the city, this at a fairly late point in its history as the
imperial hub (and at a point when the ruling dynasty was facing crushing fiscal
and political challenges). He provides a brief history of the city’s foundation
and comments on the distribution and recipients of land grants that gave rise
to its military and urban character. He also identifies the location of the houses
of Samarra’s elite families; the size and location of its major cantonments; the
city’s main markets, bathhouses, and mosques; and, finally, its annual tax yield.
Several generations of archaeologists who have worked on the ruins of ‘Abbasid
Samarra testify to the value of al-Ya‘qubi’s account. The Buldan begins with ano
less valuable description of Baghdad, the original ‘Abbasid center, and, within a
few years of its founding, the cultural and commercial axis of the early Islamic
world.

Three manuscripts of the Buldan are known, as Dr. Rowson points out. The
work was translated into French by Gaston Wiet in 1937 as Les Pays, but a new
translation is in order. Wiet's version of the text is occasionally inaccurate, and,
published early in the previous century, the volume is difficult to find. It is also
out of date: seventy years of research on Islamic urbanism are behind us and
the archaeological record alone sheds new light on the text. The version pro-
posed here will provide the full text in English translation, additional fragments
discovered in other early Arabic texts, and a more complete annotation than
provided by Wiet. Because the Geography sets the scene for some of the events
narrated by the History, the two texts are complementary.

The Mushakala (The Adaptation of Men)

The title of the essay, the shortest of al-Ya'qübi's extant works, suggests a work
of socio-political theory. It consists, in fact, of a collection of pithy anecdotes
arranged chronologically by caliphal reign. The intent seems to be to highlight
the conduct and tastes of the caliphs, beginning with Abū Bakr, as a model
for their clients and followers, and, indeed, the wider Islamic community—for
the better, when people adopted their virtues, and for the worse, when people
embraced their vices.

In some sense, it is a work of panegyric: the dynasts set the style and
tone for imperial society. William Millward, in his treatment of the work,
noted its resemblance to the type of early Arab/Islamic letters known as the
Awa'il literature, that is, a genre that concerns itself with 'firsts'—archetypal
or prototypical examples of deeds and conduct. Millward's full and still useful
translation appeared in the Journal of the American Oriental Society (1964). The

8 GORDON

decision to retranslate the essay here was informed principally by the wish
to provide a more accessible translation consistent with the style and level of
annotation of the other works of al-Ya‘qubi included in this project.

Ibn Wadih al-Ya‘qubi: A Biographical Sketch

Sean Anthony and Matthew S. Gordon

Historians of the early Islamic world have long recognized the importance
of the historical and geographical works of Ibn Wadih al-Ya‘qubi. The earli-
est printed editions were published in Europe in the latter half of the nine-
teenth century. The Arabic text of al-Ya‘qubi’s Ta’rikh (History) was first edited
by Martijn Theodor Houtsma and published by Brill in 1883.! Several reprints
appeared in the Arab world after the publication of Houtsma’s edition, the two
most widely used published in Beirut (Dar Sadir, 1960) and Najaf (al-Maktaba
al-Haydariyya, 1964). The incomplete Arabic text of al-Ya‘qubi’s geographical
work, the Kitab al-Buldan (The Book of Countries), was edited by M. J. de Goeje,
with quotations from fragments discovered in other works. De Goeje pub-
lished the edition in 1892, also with Brill, in volume vit of his groundbreaking
series of Arabic geographical treatises, the Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabico-
rum (B8GA).? The Tarīkh and the Kitab al-Buldan remain indispensable staples
of the source material utilized in the modern study of Islamic history.*

The works of Ibn Wadih date to the third/ninth century and, therefore,
represent some of the earliest historical and geographical writings to survive
in Arabic literature. Not only does his corpus contain early specimens of these
categories of Arabic writing, it is also of an exceptional quality. His chronicle
endeavors to do no less than cover the entire stretch of human history, from
the creation of Adam and Eve to the dramas of early Islamic history and the
political fortunes of the ‘Abbasid caliphate and the luminaries who served the

1 Ibn Wadih qui dicitur al-Ja‘qubi Historiae, 2 vols. For a discussion of the manuscripts of this
work, see Everett Rowson's essay in this volume and T. M. Johnstone, “An Early Manuscript,’
189-195.

2 The present translation of the work includes two new sets of fragments not identified by de
Goeje.

3 De Goeje had already published portions of the Buldān as part of his Ph.D. thesis (Leiden
University, 1860). See Jan Just Witkam, “Michael Jan de Goeje,” 4. The following year, however,
the first edition of the Buldan was published by T. G. J. Juynboll, Kitabo'l-boldan (Sive librum
regionum) (Leiden: Brill, 1861). All citations of the Buldan hereafter refer to de Goeje's edition
published in the BGA.

4 Less influential is al-Ya'gūbīs brief treatise, Mushakalat al-nās li-zamanihim, which was
discovered and edited by William G. Millward (Beirut: Dar al-Kitāb al-Jadid, 1962). Millward
produced a translation of the work in 1964 (“The Adaptation of Men”). Michael Fishbein’s
new translation appears in this volume.

© KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2018 | DOI: 10.1163/9789004364141_003

10 ANTHONY AND GORDON

dynasty in his own day. If his corpus is relatively small compared to the writings
of his peers, among them the historians al-Baladhun (d. 279/892) and al-Tabari
(d. 310/923), it is rarely derivative.

And al-Ya'qübi's voice is distinct. Unlike al-Tabarī, for example, a paragon
of early Sunni historiography, al-Ya‘qubi in his chronicle reflects a worldview
that modern scholars have occasionally characterized as recognizably Shi‘ite.
His work, however, defies such facile sectarian categorization. A keen observer
of ‘Abbasid society, al-Ya‘qubi offers penetrating and discerning descriptions
of the political, cultural, and geographical landscape of his own era. His is the
perspective of aman whose ken is the endlessly fascinating, and often perilous,
world of the ‘Abbasid-era bureaucrat and writer.

Sadly, despite the significance of his work, there is little that can be known
for certain about al-Ya‘qubi and his life. His family history and personal biog-
raphy have long been recognized as difficult, if not impossible, to reconstruct
with certainty. Prior attempts by modern historians to do so have been char-
acterized by frequent missteps, as recent scholarship has made clear.® So, for
example, the statements that he was born in Baghdad and that he spent his
childhood in Armenia appear to be little more than informed guesses.”

It would be best to begin by letting Ibn Wadih speak for himself. Ina rare and
fragmentary autobiographical note that begins his Kitab al-Buldan, he gives us
our best insight into his life and the sort of experience that shaped his work.
He represents himself as follows:

When I was in the prime of youth, possessed of an adventurous spirit
and a sharp mind, I took an interest in reports about countries and
about the distance from one country to another; for I had traveled since
childhood, and my travels had continued uninterruptedly and had taken
me to distant places. So whenever I met someone from those countries,
I asked him about his homeland and its major city? ... Then I verified

5 The question is addressed in more detail in S. W. Anthony, "Was Ibn Wadih al-Ya‘qubi a Shi‘ite
Historian?"

6 See Elton Daniel, “Al-Ya‘qubi and Shi'ism Reconsidered,” 209-231, and Anthony, "Was Ibn
Wadih al-Ya'qübi a Shi'ite Historian?”

7 The first statement appears to have originated with Gaston Wiet. See the introduction to his
French translation of the Kitab al-Buldān (Les Pays), viii, xvi. It is repeated by Muhammad
Qasim Zaman in his article on al-Ya'qübi in the £7. The second comment, regarding Armenia,
was perhaps first made by Carl Brockelmann: see his brief comments on al-Ya'qübi in the
Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur (GAL), 2nd edition, 226-227.

8 De Goeje read the Arabic term as misr—understood here in the sense of administrative

IBN WADIH AL-YA‘QUBI: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 11

everything he told me with someone I could trust, seeking assistance by
questioning men of one nationality after another until I had asked an
enormous number of people during the pilgrimage season and at other
times, from both eastern and western lands. I wrote down their reports
and related their stories?

Al-Ya‘qubi states all of this, however, without informing his readers of the
trajectory of these journeys or where he began them. His comments suggest
a figure who was curious, highly literate, and well-travelled, but offer little
else. It certainly helps al-Ya‘qubi's case that the contents of the Ta'rikh and the
Buldan reflect a life's work of this kind. His accounts of contemporary cities
and monuments stand out as among the most vivid extant descriptions in
the Arabic geographical literature. A striking example is his description of the
recently founded caliphal capital at Samarra and its expansion in the reign of
al-Mutawakkil (r. 232-247/847—861): modern archaeology has largely affirmed
the accuracy of much of his account of the palatial city.!0

The small amount of additional information on Ibn Wadih derives from
two sources: first, the accounts of other historians, geographers, and scholars
who cite his work or (far more rarely) write about him; and, second, what can
reasonably be inferred from a close reading of his own extant writings. Each
of these sources poses distinct challenges of interpretation, but reading them
carefully in aggregate suggests the basic outlines of his life.

The longest biographical notice for al-Ya‘qubi appears in the Mujam al-
udabā” by Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 626/1229), a biographical dictionary of Arabic
belletrists and authors of a variety of backgrounds. Yaqut wrote the entry
almost entirely from information transmitted by a predecessor whose own text
no longer survives, the Egyptian historian Abū ‘Umar al-Kindi (d. 350/961). The
entry is exceedingly laconic. It includes al-Ya‘qubi’s name and lineage (nasab);
notes that he was a client (mawla) of the Banü Hashim (the clan of Quraysh to
which both the Prophet and the ‘Abbasid caliphs belonged); lists select titles
from his oeuvre; and records his death as taking place in the year 284/897."

center—but the context suggests that the original might have read mudun, the Arabic
plural of “city.”

9 Al-Ya‘qubi, Buldan, 232-233.

10 A Alastair Northedge, Historical Topography, 29-30, 267—273. Northedge suggests that al-
Ya'qübi resided in Samarra for only a limited time, perhaps the 860s, and knew the city
mostly in a private capacity.

11 Yaqütal-Hamawi, Mujam al-udabā”, 2:557.

12 ANTHONY AND GORDON

Yaqut also refers to him as al-akhbari, indicating that he was known as an
historian (a purveyor of historical reports, or akhbār), and calls him al- ‘Abbasi,
revealing that he was not merely a client of the Banü Hashim but also a client
of the ruling caliphal house, the ‘Abbasids.

Yaqut attributes the following works to Ibn Wadih, adding that he authored
many others as well: a large book called Kitab al-Ta’rikh (The History); a sin-
gle volume called Kitab Asma? al-buldan (The Names of Countries); a small
book called Kitab Ft akhbar al-umam al-sālifa (Stories of Nations Past); and
Kitab Mushākalat al-nās li-zamanihim (The Adaptation of Men to Their Times).
Arguably, all these works can be regarded as extant in some fashion, especially
if one regards the Kitab Ft akhbar al-umam al-sdlifa as referring to the first vol-
ume of the work known today as Ta’rikh al-Ya'gūbī inasmuch as it deals with
pre-Islamic history.

Yāgūt's entry is our best source on al-Ya'qübr' life. Unfortunately, it seems to
err on at least one count: the date of Ibn Wadih’s death. Citations of al-Ya/qubi's
poetry on the fall of the Tūlūnid dynasty of Egypt (see below) and his own
reference to the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Muktafi (r. 289—295/902-908) prove that he
must have lived beyond the latter's death in 295/908.!? Yaqut, perhaps, is not
entirely to blame for botching the death date, as he derives it from his source,
the Egyptian historian al-Kindi. The root of the error appears to be confusion
between Ibn Wadih and a similarly named figure who appears in biographical
dictionaries of the scholars of Prophetic reports (hadith). These works record a
minor Egyptian scholar named Abu Ja'far Ahmad b. Ishaq b. Wadih b. ‘Abd al-
Samad b. Wadih al-‘Assal (‘the honey merchant’). He, too, is described as a client
(mawla) of Quraysh and as having lived and died in third/ninth-century Egypt.
The same works also report the honey merchant's death date as falling in Safar
284/March-April 897—a date matching the death date that Yaqut records for
al-Ya‘qubi exactly.!?

The biographical literature places this Ahmad b. Ishaq b. Wadih al-‘Assal
squarely in the orbit of contemporary Egyptian hadith scholars. He appears, for
example, as a minor hadith scholar and authority in the works of al-Tabarani
(260—360/873-970), as having transmitted traditions from the Egyptian scholar

12 On the Tūlūnid references, see Wiet, Les Pays, viii; Husayn ‘Asi, al-Yaqübi, 50-51; Daniel,
"Al-Ya'qübi and Shi‘ism Reconsidered,’ 209 and n. 2. The verses are treated in greater detail
below. On the references to al-Muktafi, see al-Raghib al-Isfahani, Muhadarat al-udaba’,
2:534.

13 Al-Sam'ānī, al-Ansáb, 9:291 (citing the Kitab Ghuraba' of the Egyptian scholar Ibn Yunus
al-Sadafi, d. 347/958), and al-Dhahabi, Ta’rikh al-Islam, 6:668.

IBN WADIH AL-YA‘QUBI: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 13

Sa'id b. al-Hakam b. Abi Maryam (d. 224/839)!* and Hamid b. Yahya al-Balkhī
(d. 242/857), a scholar who resided in Tarsus but who had a large number of
Egyptian students. Ahmad b. Ishaq b. Wadih al-‘Assal also makes scattered
appearances as a hadith transmitter in the works of the Andalusian scholar
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (d. 463/1071). The latter transmits these traditions from the
Egyptian scholar ‘Abdallah b. Jafar b. al-Ward (d. 351/362),!6 who cites Ahmad
b. Ishàq b. Wadih as an authority for reports from Abu Dawud al-Sijistani
(d. 275/889), the compiler of the Sunan, the famous Sunni hadith collection.!?
The impression left by these references is that Ibn Wadih al-‘Assal—the honey
merchant—was a minor hadith transmitter known locally in Egyptian schol-
arly circles. But is he to be identified with al-Ya‘qubi, the historian and geogra-
pher? There is good reason not to do so, but it requires us to broaden the scope
of our analysis.

A method that modern historians use in gleaning further biographical de-
tails about al-Ya‘qubi relies on the scattered references to his writings in the
works of later medieval authors. Viewed collectively, these texts strongly rec-
ommend against identifying the author of the so-called Ta’rikh al-Ya'gūbī with
the honey merchant. These citations indicate that, although our Ibn Wadih cer-
tainly lived and worked in Egypt in the late third/ninth century, he was unlikely
to have been of Egyptian origin like the honey merchant. The citations also
indicate that the chronological scope of Ibn Wadih’s life makes a death date of
284/897 for the author of the Buldān and the Ta’rikh untenable.

In reading these later references, two points are to be kept in mind. First, few
medieval Muslim scholars seem to have read al-Ya/qubi's chronicle; citations of
the Tarīkh are rare. The earliest confirmed citations of this kind appear in a
fifth/eleventh-century work, Kitab al-Dhakhā'ir wa L-tuhaf (The Book of Gifts
and Rare Treasures)? and in a treatise on Quranic exegesis by the theologian
al-Shahrastānī (d. 548/1153), who cites al-Ya'qubi's sectarian account of ‘Ali b.
AbiTalib's collection of the Qur'àn.? By contrast, scholars such as Ibn al-‘Adim

14 AlMizz, Tahdhib al-Kamāl, 10:393. Cf. these traditions in al-Tabarani, al-Mujam al-kabir,
2:73; 7:70; 9:99; 10:26—27, 191, and 12:47, 91.

15 AlTabarani al-Mufam al-saghir, 1:25; cf. al-Mizzi, Tahdhib, 5:325-357, for Hamid b. Yahya's
Egyptian pupils.

16 Originally from Baghdad, Ibn al-Ward settled in Egypt later in life; see al-Dhahabi, Siyar
alam, 16:39.

17 Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, al-Tamhid, 7342.

18 Ibn al-Zubayr, Kitab al-Dhakha'ir, 245 (8359) = Book of Gifts and Rarities, tr. al-Qaddumi,
225; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarikh, 1:24—25.

19 alShahrastàni, Mafātīh al-asrār, 1:24ff., calling the work Ta'rikh Ibn Wadih. Cf. al-Ya‘qubi,

14 ANTHONY AND GORDON

(d. 660/1262), al-Qazwini (d. 682/1283), and al-Magrīzī (d. 845/1442) cite al-
Ya'qübi's geographical work, Kitab al-Buldan, far more frequently.?9

The discrepancy—the difference in the number of times that medieval
scholars refer to al-Ya‘qubi’s Ta’rikh and the Kitab al-buldan respectively—
raises a second important point. The modern convention of referring to the
author of these works as 'al-Ya'qub!' is simply that—a modern convention. The
designation derives from the version of his name that appears on the colophon
of the extant manuscripts of his works. Medieval authors who do cite al-Ya‘qubi
call him by many names: Ibn Wadih, Ibn Abi Ya‘qub, Ahmad b. Wadih, and
Ahmadal-Katib.?! The last of these versions of his name is very helpful: the term
katib indicates that he was known to be a secretarial scribe or bureaucrat by
profession and, hence, a member of the cosmopolitan secular elite of ‘Abbasid
society.

At no point do medieval sources refer to al-Ya‘qubi as “the honey merchant"
(al-'assal). Most notably, al-Ya'qubi's contemporary and fellow geographer Ibn
al-Fagīh al-Hamadhani (d. c. 289-290/902—903), cites the author of the Kitab
al-Buldan as 'Ibn Wadih al-Isfahani, indicating that the author was at one point
in his career known for being of Iranian rather than Egyptian extraction.??
Elton Daniel has dismissed Ibn al-Faqih’s reference as isolated, but in fact, it
is not. Abū Mansur al-Tha‘alibi (d. 429/1039), a fifth/eleventh-century Arab
scholar, includes "Ahmad b. Wadih’ in a long list of literary elites who hailed
from Isfahan.23 Moreover, if Ibn Wadih indeed hailed from Isfahan, this would

Ta’rikh, 2:152-154, and Th. Nóldeke et al., The History of the Qur'ün, 220 (2:911). Earlier
citations of the Ta’rikh might be found in the Leiden manuscript of an anonymous history
of the 'Abbasids called Dikhr Bani 'Abbas wa-zuhürihim (Leiden Or. 14.023), which cites al-
Ya'qubr's Ta'rikh directly. See al-Samarra't, “Hal kataba l-Tanükhi kitaban fi l-Ta'rikh?" 531.
For a description of the manuscript, see Jan Just Witkam, 15:1.

20 Ibnal-Adim, Bughyat al-talab, 1:88, 107—108, 123, 141, 150, 156, 173, 219, 263, 265, 478; al-
Qazwini, Āthār al-bilād, 187 (citing al-Ya‘qubi, Buldān, 333—334). See Daniel, “Al-Ya‘qubi
and Shi‘ism Reconsidered,” 216 n. 43 for references to al-Ya'qubi's Kitab al-Buldan in al-
Magrīzīs Khitat.

21 For these variants, see the material collected by de Goeje in BGA, 7:361-373.

22 . Al-Hamadhani, Mukhtasar Kitab al-buldān, in de Goeje, ed., BGA, 5:290—292; cf. Yāgūt,
Mujam al-buldān, 1:222. The passage displays the same familiarity with the pre-Islamic
history of the Persian Sasanid dynasty that characterizes al-Ya'qübi's chronicle. Shi‘ite
sources know of an Ahmad b. Ya'gūb al-Isfahani, but he is a figure of the mid-fourth/tenth
century who died in 354/965 and, therefore, too late to be identified with the author of
al-Ya‘qubi’s chronicle. See al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ta'rikh Madinat al-Salam, 6:479—480; al-
Majlisi, Bihar al-anwar, 45:105, 88:267, and 92:225.

23 . Al-Tha‘alibi, Yatimat al-dahr, 3:299 (citing the lost Kitab Isfahan of Hamza b. al-Husayn
al-Isfahani, d. between 350/961 and 360/970).

IBN WADIH AL-YA‘QUBI: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 15

accord well with his suggested familiarity with the Tahirid dynasty of Iran. This
familiarity is attested, however, only in a single, internal reference: al-Ya‘qubi
states in his History, referring to a document—the well-known letter written
by Tahir b. al-Husayn on the execution of the caliph al-Amin in 198/813—that
he intended to place the letter in “a separate book.”?4

The reference is, in fact, only one of very few indications of the locations
in which al-Ya‘qubi apparently lived and worked outside of Egypt and North
Africa (see below). A second reference occurs in the fragmentary passages that
de Goeje collected for the BGA, although he opted only to provide the opening
phrase.” The passage derives, again, from al-Hamadhani. It places our author
in Armenia at some undisclosed point in time:

Ahmad b. Wadih al-Isbahani mentioned that he resided for a long time
in the land of Armenia, worked as a secretary for a number of its kings
and governors, and had never seen a land more abounding in amenities
or richer in wildlife than it.26

It is worth pointing out that, while such references come to us directly from
Ibn Wadih, none are at all clear. The one reference says nothing of where he
might have worked for the Tahirids, if, in fact, he did: he might well have done
so in Iraq, where members of the illustrious family held key administrative
positions.?’ The reference regarding Armenia is more helpful, although it seems
impossible to date his sojourn in the province or identify the officials under
whom he served. It is also difficult to understand what is meant therein by
“kings”: did al-Ya‘qubi provide services to local notables and in what capacity?
It is very difficult to know.

The role of Egypt in al-Ya'qübr's career seems clearer; the indications, includ-
ing citations of his writings, suggest a long tenure there during the latter portion
of his life. These indications can be subtle. For instance, the early sections of
the History rely on an early Arabic translation of a Christian work, The Cave
of Treasures. The Arabic translation of the work was also utilized by the Cop-

24 . Al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:537.

25 BGA, 7:314.

26 Al-Hamadhānī, Mukhtasar Kitab al-buldan, 290-291. Carl Brockelmann's comment on our
author's childhood in the province, noted earlier, occurs in his entry on al-Ya'qübi in Er".
It is repeated in later biographical sketches: see Lawrence I. Conrad, “al-Ya‘qubi,” 12:717;
Camilla Adang, Muslim Writers, 36; and Muhammad Qasim Zaman in £17’, s.v. al-Ya'kübi.

27 See the article by C. E. Bosworth in £1’, s.v. Tahirids.

16 ANTHONY AND GORDON

tic historian, Eutychius of Alexandria (d. 940 CE), a fact that points to the two
authors sharing a common Egyptian milieu.?%

Other indications, especially his familiarity with the Tūlūnids, the semi-
autonomous dynasty of late third/ninth-century Egypt, would seem more tell-
ing. The Egyptian official and historian, Ibn al-Daya (fl. early fourth/tenth
century), knows al-Ya‘qubi as an administrator of the land-tax (kharāj) for
Ahmad b. Tūlūn in Barqa (modern-day al-Marj in northeastern Libya) during
the rebellion of Ibn Tūlūn's son al-Abbas in 265/878.29 The reference is our
clearest indication that he earned his livelihood as a member of the secretarial
class. Al-Ya'gūbī also provides a detailed entry on Barqa in his geographical
work, a fact that lends Ibn al-Daya's assertion more credence.

Additional evidence suggests that al-Ya'gūbī fondly remembered at least
some moments of his tenure with the Tülünids and that he ultimately lived
to see the dynasty's collapse. The historian al-Maqrizi (d. 845/1442) ends his
account of the Tülünid dynasty with an anecdote about how, on the night of ‘Id
al-Fitr in 292AH (5 August 905), Ahmad?? b. Abi Ya‘qub found himself ponder-
ing what had befallen the Tūlūnids. In his sleep, he heard a spectral voice (hatif )
declare, "Kingship, glory, and glamor vanished with the Tülünids' departure
(dhahaba [-mulk wa-l-tamalluk wa-l-zina lamma mada Banu Tūlūn)”5! These
sentiments towards the Tūlūnids are affirmed in several lines of poetry that
an earlier Egyptian historian, al-Kindi, attributes to al-Ya‘qubi in his Kitab al-
Wulat:??

If you would know the grandeur of their kingdom,

turn aside and enjoy the Great Square's green expanse.33
Behold these palaces, what they contained;

delight your eyes with the beauty of that garden.
But ponder well: a lesson lies there, too,

that tells you of the fickle ways of Time.

28 Sidney Griffith, The Bible in Arabic, 186.

29 Ibn Saīd, al-Mughrib fi hula l-Maghrib, 122: kana yatawalla kharaj Barqa.

go Reading “Ahmad” for "Muhammad" in the printed text, a reading supported by al-Kindi's
Kitab al-Wulat cited below.

31 Al-Maqnz, al-Mawa'iz wa-Litibār fi dhikr al-khitat (ed. London), 1:2, 112 and n. 1.

32 Al-Kindī, Kitab al-Wulāt, 250.

33 The Great Square (al-Maydan) is probably to be located in al-Qata’i‘, the new city north of
al-Fustāt founded by Ibn Tūlūn to be the seat of government. See al-Balawi, Sirat Ahmad
b. Tūlūn, 54.

IBN WADIH AL-YA‘QUBI: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 17

The evocative call of these verses to ponder the urban topography of al-
Fustat under the Tūlūnid dynasty—and, specifically, it seems, the Tūlūnid cen-
ter at al-Qata’i—speaks to the authenticity of their attribution, inasmuch as
they mirror the rich depictions of urban landscapes in the Kitab al-Buldan. Yet,
they reveal more, too, about al-Ya‘qubi's attitudes towards the fortunes of the
Tūlūnids in Egypt. If, at first, nostalgic for the glory days of the Tūlūnids, by the
poem’s end al-Ya‘qubi seems to welcome the ‘Abbasid assault that brought the
Tūlūnid reign to an end. On this ‘Abbasid victory, he subsequently declares:?*

Egypt, like a bride, was escorted to the house of Prophethood and
Guidance;?5
and torn away from Satan’s partisans.

The poem's seemingly contradictory turn against the Tūlūnids, and the effort to
extol the ‘Abbasids, has confused modern scholars.?6 The volte-face against the
Tūlūnids may reflect a desire on al-Ya/qubi's part to find acceptance and patron-
age with the caliphal family to whom his ancestors had long been attached.

The laudatory manner in which Ibn Wadih describes the ‘Abbasids as “the
house of Prophethood and Guidance" brings us to another aspect of his biog-
raphy, one that is often misrepresented: his family's multi-generational attach-
ment to the ‘Abbasid dynasty and his purportedly ‘Shi‘ite’ take on Islamic his-
tory. The ‘Shi‘ism’ intended here refers to a commitment to the descendants
of the Prophet’s household and his clan, the Hashimites, seen as possessing
a unique claim to the sacral leadership of the Islamic community, in major
part because of their kinship with the Prophet. Al-Ya‘qubi is quoted directly,
stating that his grandfather was a slave-client (mawla) of the ‘Abbasid caliph
al-Mansur,’ so his connection to the ‘Abbasid house appears certain. His fam-
ily, in fact, seems to have served the dynasty in a bureaucratic capacity over at
least three generations, a fact likely reflected in the itineracy to which al-Ya‘qubi
seems to refer in the passage quoted earlier.

There are further indications of his abiding interest in the Hashimites that
could be broadly construed as rooted in a pious reverence for the Prophet's clan
and its descendants. The Shi‘ite historian, Abū l-Hasan al-Mas'ūdī (d. 345/956),

34 Ibid. Cf. the article by M. Gordon in £72, s.v. Tūlūnids, and Thierry Bianquis, “Autonomous
Egypt,” 107-108.

35 Thatis, the ‘Abbasids, as related to the family of the Prophet.

36 See, for example, Hassan, Les Tulunides, 272—273.

37 Ibn al-Daya, al-Mukafa‘a, 66.

18 ANTHONY AND GORDON

lists among the sources for his massive Murüj al-dhahab a certain Kitab al-
Ta'rikh of one Ahmad b. [Abī?] Ya‘qub al-Misrī. The text, he says, “concerns the
stories of the ‘Abbasids’ ( ft akhbar al- Abbāsiyyīn).$ It is tempting to view this
as a reference to al-Ya‘qubi's extant chronicle. Indeed, Houtsma, the chroni-
cler’s first editor, succumbed to the temptation, identifying al-Ya‘qubi's History
as precisely the work cited by al-Mas'udi.??

But the evidence works against Houtsma. First, the work that modern schol-
ars known as Ta’rikh al-Ya'gūbī is by no means so narrow that one would char-
acterize it as primarily about the 'Abbasids—al-Ya'qübi's chronicle is a uni-
versal, not a dynastic, history. The ninth/fifteenth-century Egyptian historian
al-Magrīzī also knows of a certain Ahmad ibn Abi Ya‘qub al-Kātib who com-
posed a Kitab al-Buldan and “a book on the history of Hashimites, which is
large (kitab fi tarīkh al-hashimiyyin wa-huwa kabir).’*° This hypothesis finds
further confirmation in the fact that the fourth/tenth-century historian Ibn
al-Daya includes extensive quotes that are likely to be from the same history
mentioned by al-Mas'udi and al-Magrīzī.*! None of Ibn al-Daya's quotations
from what appears, in other words, to have been a specific work by al-Ya‘qubi on
the 'Abbasids, resembles any passage found in his extant History either in con-
tent or style. The latter work mostly adopts a detached and economical style
of narrative prose; the passages quoted by Ibn al-Daya, by contrast, are often
anecdotal vignettes and intimate portrayals of episodes in the ‘Abbasid court.
The book on the ‘Abbasids would thus appear to be no longer extant.

The quotations of al-Ya'qübi recorded by Ibn al-Daya are an underutilized
resource for mapping al-Ya‘qubi’s family history. A number of these passages
ultimately rely on the testimony of al-Ya‘qubi’s ancestor (jidd): Wadih the
mawla of the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Mansür. Because so much misinformation
exists about this Wadih in the secondary literature, one must first understand

38 Al-Mas'udi, Murūj al-dhahab, 116.

39 Seethe preface to Houtsma's edition of the Historiae (Histories), 1:vi. Houtsma, realizing
that al-Ya‘qubi’s History could not be described as primarily about the ‘Abbasids, but
intent nonetheless on showing that al-Mas'üdi was indeed referring to al-Ya‘qubi’s History,
argued that al-Mas'üdi somehow mangled the title, which, so Houtsma argued, originally
was Ta'rikh [al-Yaqubi] al- Abbāsī (The History of/by al-Ya‘qubi the ‘Abbasid, i.e., the client
of the 'Abbasids), turning it, by "lapse of memory” into Ta’rikh al-Abbasiyyin (The History
of the ‘Abbasids) and then into Ta’rikh fi akhbar al-Abbāsiyyīn.

40 Al-Maqrizi, Kitab al-Muqaffa al-kabir, 1:738.

41 See Ibn Daya, Mukafa'a, 45—48, 61-62, 66, 83-85, 119—120, 144—145; Ibn ‘Asakir, Ta'rikh
madinat Dimashq, 68:209.

IBN WADIH AL-YA‘QUBI: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 19

who this Wadih was not in order to arrive at a more precise understanding of
who he actually was.

Al-Ya‘qubi’s ancestor, Wadih, is certainly not the same person as another
mawlā named Wadih who briefly ruled Egypt as governor in 162/779.*? This
notorious Wadih, known as Wadih al-Maskin (the Destitute), was a slave-client
(mawla) of the ‘Abbasid prince Salih b. al-Mansur and head of the later ‘Abbasid
postal network (al-barīd) in Egypt. Chroniclers often denounce this Wadih al-
Maskin as a “vile Shi'ite (rāfidī khabīth)” and he is always reviled as such in
accounts that relate the aid he rendered to the ‘Alid rebel Idris b. ‘Abdallah upon
his escape from ‘Abbasid pursuers to the distant Maghrib in 169/785. For his
perfidy, Wadih al-Maskin was beheaded and crucified either by the caliph Musa
al-Hadi (r. 169—170/785—786),*% or Harun al-Rashid (r. 170—193/786—809) soon
after his accession to the caliphate.^^ As Daniel demonstrates, this Wadih
turns out to have been a eunuch (KAhast) and, hence, is unlikely to have been
Ibn Wadih’s ancestor.4$

Al-Ya'qübi mentions nothing, in his extant works, about Wadih al-Maskin's
involvementin the escape of the fugitive Idris from the 'Abbasids. He does men-
tion, however, a Wadih who was a client (mawla) of the ‘Abbasid dynasty. In
the past, scholars have assumed that al-Ya‘qubi glossed over Wadih’s misdeeds
in Egypt because he was identical with his ancestor, a family member, and thus
wished not to impugn his reputation. But, if Wadih al-Maskin was a eunuch,
again, this cannot be the case. But does one actually find a direct mention of
al-Ya‘qubr’s ancestor Wadih either in his Ta’rikh or in his Buldan? The answer is
probably not.

In the Buldan, for instance, al-Ya‘qubi discusses the founding of Baghdad by
the caliph al-Mansur and includes details on a certain Wadih—whom he refers
to as “the slave-client (mawla) of the Commander of the Faithful"—and also
notes the land-grant (gatīa) issued him by the caliph, which was located near
the start of Baghdad’s Anbar Road.*” While al-Ya‘qubi does state earlier in his

42 Al-Kindī, Wulāt Misr, 121, and al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:493.

43 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3:560-561.

44 AlBaladhun, Ansāb al-ashraf, 2:540-541. Al-Tabari, Ta’rikh, 3:561, recounts the story in
which Wadih is executed during the caliphate of al-Rashid as well but favors the earlier
date under al-Hadi. On the accounts of the flight and death of Idris b. ‘Abdallah, see now
Najam Haider, "The Community Divided," 459-475.

45 Daniel, “Al-Ya‘qubi and Shi‘ism Reconsidered,” 217—221.

46 Ibn Taghrībirdī, al-Nujum al-zāhira, 2:40.

47 AlYatgūbī, Buldān, 246-247.

20 ANTHONY AND GORDON

Buldan that his ancestors (salaft) settled in Baghdad and that one of them even
managed its affairs,*? he does not explicitly provide their names.

In his History, al-Ya‘qubi also mentions a mawla of al-Mansur named Wadih,
whom he designates as among the freedmen who served al-Mansur as gover-
nors of a province.*? But al-Ya‘qubi does not specify where this Wadih ruled as
governor, although later in the author's chronicle, the reader learns that it was
Armenia and Azerbaijan. The passage indicates that when the ‘Abbasid gover-
nor of Armenia, al-Hasan b. Qahtaba, failed to repel an uprising of a mountain
people known as the Sanariyya (Georgian Ts‘anar),°° al-Mansur sent his gen-
eral ‘Amir b. Ismail al-Hārithī, who handily defeated them and pursued them
as far as Tiflis. When the army withdrew, al-Mansur appointed his mawla—
Wadih—to the governorship of Armenia and Azerbaijan, a position he retained
through al-Mansür's reign, that is, at least to 158/775.

This Wadih appears in Ya'gūbīs chronicle as the governor of Egypt as well.
It is a brief reference: he mentions the monetary and material support that
the caliph al-Mahdi (r.158-169/775—785) requested from Wadih for renovations
to the Ka‘ba and its environs in Mecca sometime after the caliph undertook a
pilgrimage there in Dhū l-Hijja 160/September 777.9! This is certainly the same
Wadih al-Maskin who first ruled briefly as Egypt's governor and subsequently
managed its postal network (barid), a position he notoriously used to help the
fugitive Idris escape ‘Abbasid agents.

Elton Daniel was the first scholar to highlight the problems underlying
the (ultimately untenable) identification of al-Ya‘qubi’s ancestor Wadih with
the Wadih al-Maskin who served the ‘Abbasids. To Daniel modern historians
also owe the brilliant insight into the most likely identification of al-Ya‘qubi’s
ancestor.52

It seems most likely that the Wadih who was al-Ya'gūbīs ancestor was, rather
than an ‘Abbasid governor or provincial administrator, a household steward
(qahraman) who served the dynasty from the caliphate of al-Mansur to that
of Haran al-Rashid. This can be determined by reading Ibn Daya’s quotations
from al-Ya'gūbīs likely lost history of the ‘Abbasid house, in which he cites his

48 Ibid. 226: salafi kanu [min] al-gā'imīn bihà wa-ahaduhum tawallā amraha.

49 AlYatgūbī, Tarikh, 2:462, "ummaluhu min mawālīhi”.

50 Ontheidentification of the people called 'al-Sanariyya' by Arabic writers, see V. Minorksy,
“Caucasica IV” 506.

51 AlYatgūbī, Ta’rikh, 2:476—477.

52 Daniel, “Al-Ya‘qubi and Shi‘ism Reconsidered,’ 221.

IBN WADIH AL-YA‘QUBI: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 21

ancestor Wadih as an authority,5? alongside instances in which a certain Wadih
appears as an authority for historical reports in the annals of al-Tabarī.5*

Although al-Tabari does not cite al-Ya‘qubias his source for Wadih’s historical
reports,” the reports closely resemble those found in Ibn Daya’s history insofar
as they are primarily anecdotal and relate detailed accounts of the intimate and
courtly lives of the ‘Abbasid caliphs. The last anecdote that Ibn Daya records
from al-Ya‘qubi—on the authority of his grandfather Wadih—also gives us an
indication that he outlived the notorious Wadih al-Maskin, for it concerns the
skillful treatment of Harün al-Rashid by the famed Christian physician Jibril b.
Bukhtīshū' (d. c. 215/830).56

Such is the material that modern historians use in reconstructing the biog-
raphy of Ibn Wadih al-Ya‘qubi. Taken together these scraps of data leave the
impression that he was deeply enmeshed in the bureaucratic circles of the
‘Abbasid era and keenly interested in the history of its elites: in particular, mem-
bers of the ruling ‘Abbasid dynasty, and the world they inhabited. His career
spanned a geography that stretched from Isfahan to al-Fustat, across which
he seems to have witnessed the waxing and waning of the fortunes of such
regional dynasties as the Tahirids of Iran and the Tulunids of Egypt. All of his
works bear the stamp of these experiences and are enriched by them.

The same data tell us little about al-Ya‘qubi’s ideological proclivities. The
oft-vaunted connection to the ‘Abbasids has been cited as evidence for his
Shi'ite sympathies, but in fact, these notices offer us little by way of insight into
his religious views. One only gains hints, first, of his Shi'ite disposition and,
second, the sort of Shi‘ism he espouses, from the portions of his History that
discuss the conflicts over the leadership of the early Islamic community in the
wake of Muhammad's death. There one finds that al-Ya‘qubi grappled with key
questions regarding the role of the Prophet's kinsmen in the leadership of the
community. The thrust of his comments strongly suggests that he held to rather
hardline Shi'ite views.5

53 Ibn Daya, Kitab al-Mukafa‘a, 66, 84, 119.

54 ~~ Al-Tabari, Ta’rikh, 3:405, 408, 523-524.

55 Al-Tabarīs source is "Alī b. Muhammad”, which may refer to either one of two third/ninth-
century historians, ‘Ali b. Muhammad al-Nawfali or ‘Ali b. Muhammad al-Mad@ini. On
these figures, respectively, see Sebastian Günther, "al-Nawfalī's Lost History” 241—266, and
Ilkka Lindstedt, "The Role of al-Madā'inī's Students” 295-340.

56 Ibnal-Daya, Kitab al-Mukafa‘a, 144—145; cf. the article by Lutz Richter-Bernburg in Elr, s.v.
Ebn Boktīšū”.

57 For further details, see Anthony, “Was Ibn Wadih al-Ya‘qubi a Shi‘ite Historian?”

22 ANTHONY AND GORDON

Even given this knowledge about al-Ya‘qubi, one remains in the dark as to
which particular Shi'i community he belonged. Certainly staunch Shi‘ite loy-
alties would not have precluded al-Ya‘qubi from enjoying an illustrious career
in the upper echelons of the ‘Abbasid-era commonwealth, as the history of the
famously Shi'ite Nawbakhti family amply suggests.9 Yet al-Ya‘qubi's interest in
the scions of the Hashim tribe can just as easily be attributed to his family’s
attachment to the ‘Abbasids as it can to any purported sectarian allegiances.
Even then, although his attachments to the ‘Abbasids were real, they were not
absolute. Al-Rāghib al-Isfahani (d. early 5th/11th century) cites verses attributed
to al-Ya‘qubi where he seems to welcome the death of the caliph al-Muktafi (1.
289-295 /902-908), stating “when [the caliph] died, his harm lived on (lammā
mata 'asha adhahu).’® These lines of poetry cited by al-Raghib al-Isfahānī are
also the last indication one finds of al-Ya‘qubi. Nowhere does mention of his
death date occur.

58 Cf. the article by S. W. Anthony in Elr, s.v. The Nawbakti Family.
59 Al-Raghib al-Isfahani, Muhadarat al-udaba’, 2:534.

Manuscripts, Printed Editions, and Translations of
al-Ya‘qubi’s Works

Everett K. Rowson

We are fortunate that three of al-Ya‘qubi’s works have been preserved, although
not in optimal form, and that they have received considerable scholarly atten-
tion.

The Ta’rikh (History)

Two surviving manuscripts of this work are known. The first is a manuscript
now in Cambridge, England, (Qq. 10) that was signed and dated by its copyist
in the year 1096 of the Islamic calendar, corresponding to 1685 C.E. Believed
at the time to be the only surviving manuscript of the work, it was the basis
for M. Th. Houtsma's standard Arabic edition.! The second manuscript, which
is undated but clearly much older, was first identified by Alphonse Mingana
in his catalogue of the Arabic holdings in the John Rylands Library in Man-
chester, England (Arabic 801, R46158), published in 1934. On the basis of the
manuscript script, T. M. Johnstone proposed in 1957 a mid-fourteenth-century
date for the Manchester manuscript, and also concluded that the two manu-
scripts belong to the “same family.”

Lawrence Conrad has since argued that the Manchester manuscript is a
direct ancestor of the Cambridge manuscript, and further work by the present
translators and editors has only strengthened this argument; it now appears
certain that the Cambridge manuscript is a direct copy of the Manchester
manuscript. There are several reasons for this conclusion. The Manchester
manuscript is acephalous—that is, it has lost its first folios, with the title page
and the beginning of the text, and begins in mid-sentence. (A later intervener
has helpfully added a line identifying author and title at the top of the first
surviving page.) The Cambridge manuscript has the same acephalous text, but
clearly as a copy, beginning mid-page with an introductory line praising God,
followed immediately by the mid-sentence text (and without comment on the

1 Please see the Bibliography for the full citation of this and all other works referenced in this
essay.

© KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2018 | DOI: 10.1163/9789004364141 004

24 ROWSON

problem). Both manuscripts at their conclusion report that “here is finished
what survives of the History ...”

Exactly what is going on with the Manchester manuscript is unclear—
perhaps the copyist was himself working from a manuscript that had lost
both its initial and final folios?—but the direct dependence of Cambridge
on Manchester seems unquestionable. Furthermore, nowhere, with a single
exception, does the Cambridge manuscript offer any textual evidence inde-
pendent of the Manchester manuscript. The one exception is a marginal note
concluding an account of a Shri rebel with the added words “until he was
killed, God have mercy on him.” It would be normally assumed that this addi-
tion comes from another manuscript of the work, but its uniqueness, as well
as the very large number of lacunae in the text of both manuscripts, with
no other marginal supplementation from elsewhere, renders that assumption
unlikely. Finally, it seems that all the (many but minor) departures by the Cam-
bridge manuscript from the Manchester text can be explained by misreadings
or guesses where the latter is illegible, due either to poor penmanship or to
damage to the page, or in a few cases simple sloppiness on the part of the
Cambridge scribe. If Cambridge were a third- or fourth-generation descendant
of Manchester, one would expect non-obvious textual divergences, but those
seem to be lacking.

The upshot is that our sole real exemplar of the text of the History is the
Manchester manuscript. The Cambridge manuscript's interpretations of hard-
to-read words and phrases of the Manchester manuscript can be useful at
times; and Houtsma's valiant attempts to restore order to the Cambridge text
where it clearly lacks it are repeatedly (but not universally) validated by the
Manchester text. The present translation accordingly pays attention to Cam-
bridge and Houtsma (as well as Carlo von Landberg's 1886 review of Houtsma's
edition) but prioritizes Manchester as our only independent source for text
readings.

The Manchester manuscript is not wonderful. The script is crabbed; it fre-
quently lacks disambiguating dots; as already noted, there are distressingly
frequent lacunae; and it is missing a true colophon at the end, which would
have provided information on the date of copying and identified the copyist,
although this lack is clearly not due to loss of its final folio. (A later owner has
used the remaining space on the last page to copy out a passage from the tenth-
century C.E. quasi-philosophical Epistles of the Brethren of Purity.) The entire
text is divided into ten parts, almost certainly on the basis of (equal) length,
which presumably reflect either the state of the copyist's original (ten sepa-
rate volumes?) or that of an earlier manuscript ancestor; in the Manchester
manuscript, the breaks between them (e.g., "here ends the sixth part and begins

MANUSCRIPTS, PRINTED EDITIONS, AND TRANSLATIONS 25

the seventh part”) never fall at the end of a page or folio. These divisions seem
unlikely to go back to al-Ya‘qubi himself, notably because the unquestionably
original division of the work into two books, Pre-Islamic and Islamic, falls hap-
hazardly midway through Part 4.

Marginalia are quite copious in the Manchester manuscript, and appear in
at least three different hands and probably more. The majority concern textual
questions, and many are clearly the result of the original copyist’s collating his
completed copy against his original and correcting mistakes. Whether other
textual corrections and additions actually depend on other manuscripts is
impossible to say, but the “outside” contribution to emending the text is surely
minimal. Other marginalia offer supplementary information (apposite verses,
genealogical information, and the like), or, very occasionally, critical comments
on the content of the text (“this cannot be correct, for the following reason”).
At one point, where the invention of chess is mentioned, a half-page has been
bound into the text which has a poem on chess on one side, totaling sixty-four
words, with those words distributed on the squares of a chess board on the
other side. In two cases—the birth of Jesus and the birth of Muhammad—al-
Ya‘qubi's horoscopes are diagrammed in the margin.

The Manchester manuscript seems to have been owned by a succession of
fairly militantly Shīī partisans. While some aspects of the fraught question of
al-Ya‘qubi’s Shri allegiance seem to have a solid textual base (such as his ref-
erences to the “caliphate” of al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali and other Shīī imams, versus
those to the “days” of the Umayyad and ‘Abbasid caliphs), others depend on
manuscript evidence more directly attributable to copyists and owners. The
Manchester manuscript regularly follows any mention of the Umayyad caliph
Mu'awiya with “may God have mercy on him,” but with impressive thorough-
ness these pious wishes have been blotted out by a later owner and replaced
with an interlinear “may God curse him” (At the point where Mu ‘awiya attains
full power the interlinear vitriol expands to “may God not have mercy on
him, and upon him be the curse of God, the angels, and human beings, all
of them, amen, amen, amen.”) The same treatment is applied, with somewhat
less consistency, to other Shit nemeses, notably Mu‘awiya’s son and successor
Yazid.

The Cambridge manuscript is fairly slavish in its reproduction of the Man-
chester manuscript. The ten-part division is copied with only minor variations.
The “curses” on Mu'āwiya and other Shīī enemies are mostly simply incor-
porated into the text, sometimes relegated to the margins, but almost never
ignored. Manchester's textual marginalia are almost uniformly incorporated
into the Cambridge text, without comment. Non-textual Manchester margina-
lia are often reproduced as marginalia but not infrequently ignored (or possibly

26 ROWSON

unknown, if they post-date the Cambridge copying). Cambridge seems to be
half-hearted about horoscope diagrams: it reproduces the one for the birth of
Jesus, but not that for the birth of Muhammad; it supplies one for the hijra
that is not in Manchester, as well as one for the accession of Mu‘awiya. Short
phrases identifying the topic of the text (“the martyrdom of al-Husayn" and the
like) are quite frequent but not regular; these seem to have been supplied by a
later reader. As with the Manchester manuscript, there are a number of later
hands contributing not only to the marginalia but also to interlinear material.
The colophon, which includes both the date of copying and the identity of the
copyist, is followed by two further folios, in a different hand, copying out an
excerpt from the famous grammatical Magsūra poem by the ‘Abbasid littéra-
teur Ibn Durayd (d. 312/933).

The only respectable publication of the History is still that of Houtsma
from the nineteenth century. There have been repeated republications of the
text, based on Houtsma’s edition, from Beirut. A Persian translation in two
volumes by Muhammad Ibrahim Ayati first appeared in Tehran in 1964 and has
been much reprinted. A French translation by André Ferré of the first section
of the History, dealing with “Adam to Jesus,” appeared in 2000. None of the
post-Houtsma editions or translations have taken account of the Manchester
manuscript.

The Kitab al-Buldan (Geography)

The Geography is preserved, but only very imperfectly, in three known manu-
scripts, now in Munich (259), Berlin (Oct. 1833), and Istanbul (Topkapı, Ahmet
III, 2403/2). It seems clear that both the Berlin and Istanbul manuscripts
depend, directly or indirectly, on the Munich one. The latter has a colophon
dating it to the year 607 of the Islamic calendar (1211 C.E.). We know from what
is preserved of the text that al-Ya‘qubi structured his work to begin with Bagh-
dad and Samarra, followed by four “quarters” of the world: Eastern, Southern,
Northern, and Western. A very large lacuna has deprived us of much of the
Southern quarter (and part of what survives is mislabeled the Northern quar-
ter), all of the Northern quarter, and the first part of the Western quarter. The
critical edition of the text prepared by M. J. de Goeje (1892) offered fragments of
the missing text in the form of quotations in later works. These have been trans-
lated here into English by Paul Cobb, who also found and translated yet further
fragments, from both the pre- and post-lacuna sections of the work. Further
fragments, from Ibn al-Dāya's Mukafaa, have been translated by Matthew Gor-
don and Michael Fishbein and are likewise included here.

MANUSCRIPTS, PRINTED EDITIONS, AND TRANSLATIONS 27

Gaston Wiet published an annotated French translation of the text in 1937. A
Persian translation was produced by Muhammad Ibrahim Ayati in 1964—1969,
which has since been reprinted.

The Mushakala (The Adaptation of Men)

This short work is preserved in a single manuscript, Istanbul Murad Mulla 1433,
folios 79b-86b, datable from the hand to the ninth/fifteenth century, although
a much more recent (nineteenth-century?) manuscript, Istanbul Fatih 5347,
folios 73b—75a, reproduces about a third of the text, without significant variants
from the Murad Mulla text. The work has been published twice, by William
Millward (1962) and by Muhammad Kamal al-Din ‘Izz al-Din (1980?). Millward
also published (1964) an annotated English translation, which has been useful
for the new translation by Michael Fishbein presented here.

The Book of the Adaptation
of Men to Their Time and Their Dominant
Characteristics in Every Age

Mushakalat al-nas
li-zamanihim wa-ma yaglibu
‘alayhim fi kull ‘asr

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
May God Bless Our Master Muhammad

The Book of the Adaptation of Men to Their Time
and Their Dominant Characteristics in Every Age

The shaykh, imam, Quran scholar, and very learned Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b.
Jafar b. Wadih—may God have mercy on him—said: As for the caliphs and
kings of Islam,! Muslims in every age have been followers of the caliph, traveling
his path, pursuing his course, acting in accordance to what they saw from him,
and not departing from his habits, deeds, and words.

Abu Bakr was, after the Messenger of God— God's blessings and peace be
upon him—the most abstemious of men, the most humble and sparing in his
clothing. While he was caliph, he wore a wrap (shamla) and a coat ('aba'a).
The nobles of the Arabs and the kings of Yemen once came to him wearing
crowns, brocaded cloaks (burūd), and striped garments (hibar); when they saw
his humility and clothing, they took off what they were wearing, did as he did,
and followed in his footsteps. Among those who came to Abü Bakr was Dhu l-
Kala‘, the king of Himyar, wearing his crown and surrounded by his relatives
and retainers—he had ten thousand slaves serving him in his domains.? When
he saw how Abū Bakr dressed, he said, “It is not fitting for us to do otherwise
than the successor (khalifa) of the Messenger of God— God's blessings and
peace be upon him— does"; whereupon he took off what he had been wearing

1 The text begins abruptly, without the customary preliminary section of praise of God and
the Prophet, and with a formula (amma... fa) that usually signals transition from one subject
to another. This may indicate that the essay originally began with such a preface, now lost,
and with a section, also lost or suppressed, on how people before Islam, Arab and non-Arab,
conformed to the habits and practices of their rulers.

2 Parallel (with fuller wording): al-Mas'üdi, Murüj, 3:40—41 ($1512). Dhü 1-Kalā* Samayfa‘ b.
Nākūr (not to be confused with the earlier Dhūl-Kalā' listed by al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 1:225, among
the "kings" of Yemen), was the leader of a powerful South Arabian tribe on the eve of Islam.
He converted in response to a mission that Muhammad, in his final illness, sent to Yemen
and remained loyal to Islam after the Prophet's death. Having sided with Abü Bakr against
apostates in Yemen, he came to Medina in response to Abü Bakr's call for men to fight in Syria.
(Presumably, this anecdote refers to this time.) He fought in various battles against Byzantine
forces, settled in Syria, and died fighting for Mu'awiya at Siffin in 37/657.

32 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

and imitated Abū Bakr. He was even seen in the market of Medina carrying a
sheepskin on the back of his neck. "You've disgraced us!” said his kinsmen and
tribesmen. “Will you, our lord, carry a sheep amid the Emigrants (Muhajirun)
and Helpers (Ansar)?” He replied, “Did you want me to have been a proud
tyrant in pagan times (al-jahiliyya) and a proud tyrant in Islam as well?”

Al-Ash‘ath b. Qays, the king of Kinda, used to wear a crown and be greeted as
a king.? When, after apostatizing, he returned to Islam, and Abū Bakr married
him to his sister, Umm Farwa bt. Abi Quhafa, he became so modest after
being proud and so humble after being haughty that he would wrap himself
in a worn-out cloak and, with his own hand, smear pitch on his camel's skin,
imitating Abu Bakr and casting away the habits he used to have in pagan days.*

Abu Bakr—may God have mercy on him— permitted no noble to act extrav-
agantly. Once he received a report that Abu Sufyan had done something he dis-
liked.5 He summoned Abü Sufyan and began shouting at him, while Abu Sufyan
stood submissive and humble before him. Abu Quhafa,’ who had become
blind, approached, led by his attendant; when he heard Abu Bakr shouting,
he asked his attendant, “At whom is Abu Bakr shouting?" "At Abu Sufyan b.
Harb,” he replied. Abū Quhafa said: "Abū ‘Atiq!® Will you raise your voice to
Abu Sufyan? You have gone too far” Abū Bakr replied, "Father, God has raised
some men through Islam and lowered others."

‘Umar b. al-Khattab—may God have mercy on him— despite his humility
and the coarseness of his clothing and food, was strict in matters relating

3 On the checkered life of this prince of the originally South Arabian tribal confederacy of
Kinda, see the article by Khalid Yahya Blankinship in E13, s.v. al-Ash‘ath, Abū Muhammad
Ma‘dikarib b. Qays b. Ma'dikarib.

Pitch was used to prevent wounds from becoming infected and to promote healing.

Abi Sufyan b. Harb was an influential Meccan leader. Originally hostile to Muhammad, he
converted at or shortly before the conquest of Mecca, fought afterward on the Muslim side,
and, according to some reports, was appointed by the Prophet as governor of Najran. His son,
Mu'āwiya, established the Umayyad line of caliphs. The report here fits other reports that
relations between Abū Bakr and Abū Sufyan were cool. See the article by Khaled M. G. Keshk
in E13, s.v. Abū Sufyan.

6 Parallel, al-Mas'üdi, Murūj, 3:41 (§ 1513).

7 AbüBakr' father.

8 Addressing his son: Abū ‘Atiq, a nickname for Abū Bakr, literally means “father of one set
free,” or simply “man set free,” referring to a report that Muhammad promised Abū Bakr that
he would be free ('atiq) from the fire of hell. (See Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqat, 111/1, 120, 133.) The parallel
in al-Mas'üdi has the variant, ya atīg Allah (O one set free by God).

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 33

to God. His governors and everyone else in his presence or away from him
imitated him, and none of the Companions of the Messenger of God— God's
blessings and peace be upon him—did otherwise. He used to wear a woolen
tunic ( jubba) and wrap himself in a coat ('aba'a).? He would smear his camel
with pitch and carry a water skin on his back for his family. His governors, the
commanders of the garrison cities—God had granted them victories, favor, and
power and had enriched them and protected them—went barefoot; they would
remove their shoes and not wear boots, and they wore coarse garments. When
they came before him, they came unkempt, dusty, coarse-garmented, and ema-
ciated in complexion. If he saw them otherwise than such, or it was reported to
him, he reprimanded them for it. Their mounts were camels, more than horses,
imitating ‘Umar, his way of acting, and how they had been in the time of the
Messenger of God— God's blessings and peace be upon him.

Abu Ubayda b. al-Jarrah, the commander of Syria—God had granted him
victory over it—was seen wearing an ill-smelling woolen tunic ( jubba). Abu
‘Ubayda said, “I have sat beside the Messenger of God— God's blessings and
peace be upon him— wearing something that smelled stronger than this, but
he did not object.”!°

Salman al-Fārisī was ‘Umar b. al-Khattab’s governor of al-Mada'in.! He used
to wear the coarsest of garments and ride a she-ass with a pack saddle and a
halter rope of palm fiber. When Salman was about to die, Sa‘d b. Abi Waggās
came and said to him, “Give me your parting advice, Abu "Abdallah." “Yes,”
he replied: “Be mindful of God with your thoughts when you are about to do
something, and with your tongue whenever you speak, and with your hand
whenever you distribute" Salman began to weep, and Sa‘d asked him, “Abu
‘Abdallah, what is making you weep?” He replied, “I once heard the Messenger
of God— God's blessings and peace be upon him—say that in the Hereafter
there is a pass that can be crossed only by those who travel light, and I see all
this baggage around me.” (Sa'd said,) “We looked and saw nothing in his room
other than a water skin, a drinking cup, a cooking pot, and a ewer”!?

9 Parallel, al-Mas‘tidi, Murüj, 3:48 (81525).

io Parallel, al-Mastūdī, Murūj, 3:49 (81528).

11 Al-Ya‘qubi, Buldan, 321, notes that the tomb of this Companion of the Prophet, said to
have been the first Persian convert to Islam, was located at al-Mada'in. The historicity of
Salman’s governorship of al-Madā'in is uncertain. See the article by G. Levi Della Vida in
EI’, s.v. Salman al-Fārisī.

12 Parallel, al-Mastūdī, Murüj, 3:49 ($1527). The Arabic terms are idāwa (a small leather bag

34 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

‘Umar b. al-Khattab put Umayr b. Sa‘d al-Ansan in charge of the military
district of Hims. He stayed for a year and then returned on his camel in the same
state as when he had departed from ‘Umar. So ‘Umar said, “Woe to a people over
whom you were set in charge! Didn't they recognize what you were entitled
to?"—or something of the sort.

‘Umar b. al-Khattab performed the pilgrimage. Then he asked his son ‘Abdal-
lah, “How much did we spend on our pilgrimage?” “Sixteen dinars,” he replied.
Whereupon ‘Umar said, "We have been extravagant with this money”!3

‘Uthman b. ‘Affan—may God have mercy on him—was known for magna-
nimity and generosity, for loyalty to his kinsmen and promoting his relatives,
and for acquiring property; and people modeled themselves on his actions.
‘Uthman built his home in Medina and spent a huge sum of money on it.
He built it of stone and put panels of teak on its doors. He acquired proper-
ties in Medina, wells, and herds of camels. According to ‘Abdallah b. "Utba:!*
“On the day he died, Uthmān b. ‘Affan left with his treasurer 150,000 dinars
and 1,000,000 dirhams. His estates were Bi'r Arīs,!* Khaybar, and Wadi l-Qura,
whose value was 200,000 dinars; and he left horses and herds of camels."!6

In the days of Uthmān, the Companions of the Messenger of God— God's
blessings and peace be upon him—acquired wealth and built houses.

to hold water), rakwa (a small leather drinking vessel), gidr (a cooking pot), and mithara
(a vessel holding water for performing ablutions).

13 Parallel, al-Mastūdī, Murūj, 3:77 ($1582); Ibn Sa‘d, Tabagāt, 111/1, 222, with an isnād begin-
ning with Muhammad b. ‘Umar (al-Wāgidī).

14 Al-Ya‘qubi indicates only the final authority for this report. The parallel in Ibn Sad,
Tabagāt, 111/1, 53 indicates that the report was part of the work of Muhammad b. ‘Umar al-
Wāgidī. ‘Abdallah b. Utba b. Mas'üd al-Hudhali, an early Muslim (born during the lifetime
of the Prophet, died c. 74/693-694) was known as a jurist (he served as qàádi of Kufa in
67/686—687), an authority on Quran readings (he was the nephew of ‘Abdallah b. Mastūd),
and a transmitter of traditions. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, 5:211-212.

15 Thus in the printed editions of the text. According to Yaqut, Mujam al-buldan, 1:430, S.V.,
Bir Aris was a well in Medina into which the Prophet's ring fell and from which Uthmān
tried unsuccessfully to retrieve it. However, a well inside Medina hardly fits the category
of "estate" (day a, pl. diya‘). The parallel in Ibn Sa‘d, Tabagāt, 111/1, 53, reads bi-Barādīs (as
corrected by the editor Sachau from manuscripts that read Bīrādīs); and a marginal note
in one of the manuscripts of Ibn Sa'd identifies Baradis as "an orchard on the outskirts of

o

Medina, outside of al-Bagī” (Sachau's note ad. loc.).

16 Parallel, al-Mastūdī, Murūj, 3:76 (§ 1579).

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 35

Al-Zubayr b. al-Awwam!" built his renowned house in Basra; in it there
are markets and shops.!? Al-Zubayr also built a house in Kufa, one in Egypt?
and one in Alexandria. The value of al-Zubayr's wealth amounted to 50,000
dinars. He left a thousand horses, a thousand slaves, and real estate in Egypt,
Alexandria, Kufa, and Basra.2°

Talha b. ‘Ubaydallah?! built houses and estates valued at 100,000 dinars.
His daily income in Iraq was fully 1,000 [dinars],?* and his income in Syria
was 10,000 dinars [a year].?? He built his house of gypsum, baked bricks, and
teakwood, and left a huge fortune in gold and silver.

‘Abd al-Rahman b. 'Awf?* built his house and made it spacious. He had 1,000
camels, 10,000 sheep, and 100 horses. One-fourth of the eighth of his wealth
amounted to 84,000 dinars.25

17 ALZubayr b.al-Awwam, a cousin of Muhammad and one of the earliest converts to Islam,
was a member of the six-man conclave (shūrā) that chose Uthmān to succeed ‘Umar.
Later, he was killed at the Battle of the Camel, near Basra, in 36/656, fighting against ‘Ali.
He was known as one of the wealthiest of the Companions of the Prophet. See the article
by I. Hasson in E12, s.v. al-Zubayr b. al-Awwam.

18 Op “in it there were markets and shops” (the Arabic clause has no explicit verb). The
question is whether the complex (dar, here translated as “house,” can also refer to an
estate or even to an entire district) included markets and shops from the beginning, or
whether they were a later addition. The parallel in al-Mas'üdi, Murūj, 3:76 (81579) suggests
the latter, but is also ambiguous: "He built his house in Basra—the one known at this time,
namely the year 332 (943-944)— occupied by merchants, persons of wealth, purveyors of
naval equipment, and others."

19 Thatis in al-Fustat (Old Cairo).

20 Parallel, al-Mastūdī, Murūj, 3:76 ($1579); Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqat, 111/1, 77, with isnād beginning
with Muhammad b. ‘Umar (al-Wāgidī).

21 On the career of this very early convert to Islam, who was also a member of the conclave
(shūrā) that chose ‘Uthman to succeed ‘Umar and who died at the Battle of the Camel in
36/656, see the article by W. Madelung in £7’, s.v. Talha.

22 Supplied from the parallel in al-Mas'üdi, Murūj, 3:77 (§ 1580).

23 Addition from Ibn Sa‘d, Tabagāt, 111/1, 157, where the report has an isnad beginning with
Muhammad b. ‘Umar (al-Wāgidī).

24 Anearly Meccan convert who emigrated first to Abyssinia and then to Medina. He fought
in most of the battles of the Medinan community, and later was a member of the shura
(conclave) to determine a successor to the caliphate after the murder of ‘Umar. He died in
32/652—653, during the caliphate of Uthmān, and was renowned for his wealth. See the
article by Wilferd Madelung in £13 s.v. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Awf.

25 Reading rub‘thumn mālihi. The meaning is clarified by two reports in Ibn Sa‘d, Tabagāt,
11/1, 96f. At his death, ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Awf left four wives. Assuming that the later
Islamic rules for quota-heirs prevailed at the time (see the article by J. Schacht in E72, s.v.
Mirath, as well as Sachau's note to Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqat, 111/1, 77), a widow, assuming that

36 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas?6 built his house in al-‘Aqiq.?’ He plastered it?? and gave
it balconies.??

According to Sa'id b. al-Musayyab:3? Zayd b. Thabit?! left so much gold and
silver that it had to be broken up with pickaxes, as well as property, estates, and
springs amounting to 150,000 dinars.??

Ya'la b. Munya al-Tamimi?? left 500,000 dinars, plots of land, estates, and
loan credits with a value of 300,000 dinars.34

Al-Migdād?5 built his palace at al-Jurf*$ of unbaked bricks; he stuccoed it
inside and out, and gave it balconies. No men had done this during the time of
‘Umar; they did it only after him.37

there were surviving sons or daughters, would receive a eighth of the estate; since ‘Abd al-
Rahman left four widows, each would have received “one-fourth of the eighth." According
tothe first report, this came to 80,000 (sc. dinars) for each. According to the second report,
"Tumadir bt. al-Asbagh received one-fourth of the eighth; she went away with 100,000; she
was one of the four" The parallel in al-Mas'üdi, Murūj, 3:77 (§ 1580) reads al-ray* min malihi
(the income from his property/wealth after his death amounted to 84,000 dinars), which
is less likely to be the correct reading.

26 An early convert who commanded the Arab armies in the conquest of Iraq. He, too, was a
member of the conclave (shūrā) that chose Uthmān to succeed ‘Umar. See the article by
G. R. Hawting in E12, s.v. Sad b. Abi Wakkas.

27 A valley to the west of Medina; a report in Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqat, 111/1, 105, with an isnad
beginning with Muhammad b. ‘Umar (al-Wāgidī) locates Sa‘d’s al-Aqiq estate 10 Arab
miles from Medina.

28 Arabic shayyadaha, which can also mean “he built it tall.”

29 Parallel, al-Mas'udi, Murūj, 3:77 ($1581).

go Saiüdb.al-Musayyab (b. c. 15/636, d. c. 91/709) was one of the so-called “seven jurists of
Medina” See the article by Ch. Pellat in EI”, s.v. Fukah@ al-Madina al-Sab‘.

31 A Medinan convert who served as Muhammad's scribe and later as ‘Uthman’s treasurer.
He seems not to have pledged allegiance to ‘Ali, and later served under Mu'awiya. See the
article by M. Lecker in £7, s.v. Zayd b. Thabit.

32 Parallel, al-Mas'udi, Murūj, 3:77 ($1581).

33 Commonly known as Ya‘la b. Umayya (Munya was his mother’s name), he was a Com-
panion of the Prophet, served as ‘Umar’s governor of Najran, and fought on the side of
al-Zubayr and Aisha at the Battle of the Camel in 35/656. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib al-
Tahdhib, 11:399—400.

34 Parallel, al-Mas'udi, Murūj, 3:77 ($1582).

35 Al-Miqdad b. ‘Amr al-Bahra' (also known as al-Migdād b. al-Aswad), a Companion of
the Prophet, later served as military commander under ‘Umar and Uthmān. He died in
33/653—654. See the article by G. H. A. Juynboll in EP, s.v. al-Mikdad b. ‘Amr.

36 About 3 Arab miles north of Medina, according to a report in Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqat, 111/1, 115,
and Yāgūt, Mujam al-buldan, 2:62, s.v.

37 Parallel, al-Mas‘tdi, Murūj, 3:77 ($1582).

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 37

‘Ali b. Abi Talib—peace be upon him—was occupied all his days with fight-
ing. However, he never wore a new garment, never acquired an estate, and
never contracted for property except what he had in Yanbu‘ and al-Bughay-
bigha,?° from which he gave alms to the poor. People have preserved his ser-
mons; he delivered 400 sermons that were preserved from him, and they are
the ones that circulate among people and that they use in their own sermons
and speeches.^9

Then came Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan.*! He built palaces, constructed houses,
and raised screens.^? He acquired guards, acquired a police force (shurta),
established chamberlains,*? and built rulers’ compartments (magsūras) in the
mosques. He rode good-looking mounts with padded saddles. He wore silk and
brocade. He acquired crown lands^^ and estates. Tíraz^? was made for him in
Yemen, Egypt,^9 Alexandria, and al-Ruhā.*” His family, children, and officials
acquired what he acquired and did as he did.

38 Arabic wa-lam ya qid ‘ala mal. The meaning is unclear. If one adds one word, to read wa-
lam ya qid [nafsahu] ‘ala mal, it would mean “he never set his heart on wealth."

39 The reading is uncertain, as the Arabic ductus is completely undotted in the manuscript.
Support for the reading can be found in Yāgūt, Mujam al-buldan, 1:696, s.v., which lists
al-Bughaybigha as a property belonging to ‘Ali. The parallel in al-Mas'üdi, Murüj, 3:172
(81744), omits the second place name and refers only to 'Ali's property in Yanbu‘.

40 Parallel, al-Masūdī, Murūj, 3:172 (81744).

41 On Mu‘awiya b. Abi Sufyan, the first of the Umayyad caliphs (r. 41/661 to 60/680), see the
article by M. Hinds in E12, s.v. Mu‘awiya I.

42 Arabic sutūr (curtains, screens) could refer to the magsūra, an enclosed compartment for
the ruler near the mihrab of the mosque, introduced to protect the ruler from attempts
on his life. Mu'āwiya is sometimes credited with its introduction; e.g., al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh,
1:3465. However, since the maqsüra is mentioned specifically later in the sentence, this
reference may be to screens or curtains in the audience chamber.

43 Arabic hujjab, pl. of hajib, referring to the official who controlled access to the ruler, so
that only approved persons might approach him. See the article by D. Sourdel in £1’, s.v.
Hadjib.

44 Arabicsawāft originally conquered Sasanian crown lands retained by the caliph on behalf
of the community. In the reign of Mu‘awiya attempts were made to identify former Sasa-
nian crown lands in Iraq; these were appropriated by the caliph and often redistributed
to members of the Umayyad family. See the article by A. K. S. Lambton in £1?, s.v. Safi.

45 Tiraz (from a Persian word meaning ‘adornment’) referred to ornamental bands of cloth
with woven or embroidered inscriptions. Garments with these panels were worn by rulers
and other high officials and could be bestowed as robes of honor. See the article by Yedida
K. Stillman and Paula Sanders in EI”, s.v. Tirāz.

46 Thatis, al-Fustat (Old Cairo).

47 Ancient Edessa, modern Urfa in southeastern Turkey.

38 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

‘Amr b. al-‘As built his house in Egypt and acquired estates for himself.^$ On
his estate at al-Ta'if called al-Waht he planted one million grapevines, and his
income from the yield was 10 million dirhams. On the day of his death he left
300,000 dinars. When he was about to die, he said, “Would that it were only
100,000 dinars.”49

‘Abdallah b. ‘Amir b. Kurayz, Mu‘awiya’s governor of Basra, did as he did. He
dug canals, erected houses, built palaces, and acquired estates, property, and
gardens in Basra, Mecca, and al-Taif.

Ziyad,°° Mu'awiya's governor of Iraq, did this in Kufa, Basra, and the rest of
Iraq. He acquired estates and built and constructed buildings. On the day of his
death, Ziyad left 6 million [dirhams and 100,000]?! dinars. Mu‘awiya took them;
Mu‘awiya usually did this to his governors, but sometimes he shared equally
with the heirs.

Maslama b. Mukhallad, Mu'awiya's governor of Egypt, did the same.5? He
acquired estates in Egypt that he set aside as trusts (wagf) for his family. On
the day of his death he left 100,000 dinars and 1 million dirhams.

48 Onthe career of ‘Amr b. al-As, Mu'awiya's governor of Egypt, see the article by Khaled M.
G. Keshk in £13, s.v. ‘Amr b. al-Ās.

49 The parallel in al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:263—264, provides a fuller context: “When ‘Amr came
to die, he said to his son: ‘Your father wishes that he had died at the raid of Dhat al-Salasil
[i.e., during the lifetime of the Prophet]. I have involved myself with affairs for which I do
not know what excuse I shall have before God. Then he looked at his fortune and seeing
its magnitude he said: "Would that it were dung! Would that I had died thirty years ago! I
made Mu‘awiya’s worldly fortune thrive, while I spoiled my religion; I preferred my worldly
life and abandoned my afterlife; my integrity was blinded, and now my time of death has
come. I seem to see Mu'awiya taking possession of my fortune and making my succession
evil for you.”

50 That is, Ziyad b. Abihi (Ziyād “the son of his father” because of his uncertain parentage),
was officially recognized by Mu'awiya as the son of Abu Sufyan and hence as Mu'awiya's
half-brother. He later became Mu'awiya's governor of Iraq and became famous for his
restoration of order to the chaotic province. See the article by I. Hasson in £7’, s.v. Ziyad
b. Abihi.

51 The bracketed words are a marginal addition in the Ms. The question of Ziyad’s fortune
and its disposition remains unclear. A curious passage in al-Baladhuri, Ansab al-Ashraf,
IV/1, 282 (ed. Ihsan Abbas), reads: "Ziyad died only owning less than 10,000 dirhams; of
clothing he left only two shirts, two waist-wrappers, and two pairs of drawers. He used to
say, ‘As long as our power lasts, all the world is ours; when it departs from us, what will
suffice us of the world will be the least of it."

52 Maslama b. Mukhallad became governor of Egypt sometime after the death of ‘Amr b.

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 39

‘Uqba b. ‘Amir al-Juhani, who also was Mu'awiya's governor of Egypt, created
estates in Egypt. He bequeathed some of them in perpetuity,?? and he built
a house in Egypt?^ of stone and plaster. He left 30,000 dinars and 700,000
dirhams.

Huwaytib b. ‘Abd al--Uzzā*5 sold a house to Mu'awiya for 40,000 dinars.
Someone said to him, "Abū Muhammad, forty thousand?"56 He replied, "And
what are 40,000 dinars for a man with six dependents?” Mu‘awiya used to say,
“I have split apart the kingdom”57

Yazid b. Mu‘awiya®® was devoted to the chase, hunting animals*? and dogs,
entertainment, and carousing over wine; these things then dominated his
companions. It was in his time that singing made its appearance in Mecca and
Medina, musical instruments were used, and nobles drank openly.%%

al-‘As (two other governors, ‘Utba b. Abi Sufyan and Ugba b. ‘Amir, intervened); see the
article in E12, s.v. Maslama b. Mukhallad.

53 Arabic wa-habbasa ba'daha. That is, he made some of them inalienable trusts either for
his family or for charitable purposes.

54 Thatis, al-Fustat (Old Cairo).

55 A leader of the Quraysh, who converted only after Muhammad's conquest of Mecca. He
is said to have been married at one time to Mu'awiya's sister Amina (al-Balādhurī, Ansāb
al-Ashraf, 1v 1, 1) and to have lived to the age of 120.

56 The interlocutor addresses Huwaytib familiarly by his kunya, Abū Muhammad. The paral-
lel in al-Balādhurī, Ansab al-Ashraf, 1v, 61 (where the sum is given as 45,000 dinars) clar-
ifies the context: "Some men congratulated Huwaytib," i.e., for having become rich from
the sale. Huwaytib replies that such a sum was nothing for a man with so many depen-
dents (seven in al-Baladhuri's account, which comes from al-Madā'inī). The anecdote also
appears in the Kitab al-Bukhalā” by al-Jahiz (ed. Taha al-Hājirī, Cairo, 1967), 150, where
the interlocutor's remark is phrased, "You've become very wealthy!" To which Huwaytib
replies, "What's the use of 45,000 with six children?" In a version in al-Tabarī's appendix
of biographies (ed. Leiden, 3:2329, coming from al-Wāgidī) there is an extra detail: the
exchange between Huwaytib and the interlocutor is set years after the sale, by which time
Huwaytib “was among the recipients of the monthly [rations] of food.” (Trans. by Ella
Landau-Tasseron in The History of al-Tabari, xxx1x, 46).

57 Thereading of the Ms (ana fataqtu l-mulk) is unclear, and in the absence of a more detailed
parallel, one can only speculate about the meaning.

58 On Yazīd b. Mu'awiya, the second Umayyad caliph (r. 60/680 to 64/683), see the article by
G. R. Hawting in £1?, s.v. Yazid (1) b. Mu‘awiya.

59 Arabic jawarih, referring to cheetahs, falcons, and the like.

60 Parallel, al-Mas'üdi, Murüj, 3:265 (§ 1918).

40 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

Then came ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan.°! He was stern, resolute, and miserly,
fond of poetry, boasting, encomium, and praise.® In his days the “stallions”
among the poets were Jarir, al-Farazdaq, al-Akhtal, and others.9? Poetry flour-
ished in the days of ‘Abd al-Malik. The poets praised the military commanders
and tribal dignitaries and sought rewards.

‘Abd al-Malik had a penchant for shedding blood and acting in haste, and his
Hisham b. Ismāfl al-Makhzūmī in Medina, ‘Abdallah b. ‘Abd al-Malik in Egypt,
Musa b. Nusayr al-Lakhmī in the Maghrib, Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Thagafī (al-
Hajjaj's brother) in Yemen, and Muhammad b. Marwan in the Jazira and Mosul.
All of them were tyrannical, unjust, violent, and headstrong. Al-Hajjaj was one
of the most unjust of them and most given to shedding blood.

Al-Walid b. ‘Abd al-Malik was tyrannical, stubborn, and unjust.6* His gov-
ernors in all lands were of similar character. ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz® used to
Muhammad b. Yusuf in Yemen, Qurra b. Sharik in Egypt, and Musa b. Nusayr in
Ifriqiya, the world was full of injustice." Nothing of al-Walid's manner of acting
deserves notice except for his building of mosques, for it was he who built the
mosque of Damascus.56

Then came Sulayman b. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan.5? He was an epicure and a
glutton beyond all measure, a wearer of fine clothing and garments of brocade:
tunics, cloaks, trousers, turbans, and hats. His family members would enter his
presence only in brocades, and similarly his governors, companions, servants,
andthose in his household. It was his costume when he was riding, when he was

61 AlLYa'qübi omits the brief reigns of Mu‘awiya b. Yazid (r. briefly in 64/683—684) and
Marwan b. al-Hakam (r. 64/684 to 65/685). On 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan, the fifth Umayyad
caliph (r. 65/685 to 86/705), see the article by H. A. R. Gibb in £7’, s.v. ‘Abd al-Malik b.
Marwan, and Chase Robinson's book-length treatment, Abd al-Malik.

62 Parallel, al-Mas'udi, Murūj, 3:291 (81973).

63 Arabic fuhül al-shu‘ara’, a term reserved for poets who could overcome their rivals in
poetic contests.

64 Onal-Walīd 1 (r. 86/705 to 96/715), see the article by Renate Jacobi in EI, s.v. al-Walid.

65 Thatis, the successor of al-Walid's successor. Later historians often cited ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-
"Aziz as the only truly pious Umayyad caliph. Hence, his pronouncement about al-Walid
carries particular weight as being a denunciation of a member of his own family.

66 Thatis, the Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus. Its beauty is praised by al-Ya‘qubi, Kitab
al-Buldan, 326. Parallel, al-Mastūdī, Murüj, 3:365 (8 2114).

67 Ruled 96/715 to 99/717; see the article by R. Eisener in EI”, s.v. Sulayman b. ‘Abd al-Malik.
Parallel, al-Mas'üdi, Murüj, 4:6—7 (8 2154).

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 41

holding audience, and when he was in the pulpit. None of his servants would
enter his presence except in brocade, even the cook, who would come before
him in a tunic and tall hat, both of brocade.

Then came ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. Marwan.88 He governed with humility,
devoutness, asceticism, religion, and seeking the friendship of people of virtue.
He removed al-Walid’s governors and appointed the most righteous people he
could find. His governors followed his path, and the people were relieved of
the oppression and injustice that they had been suffering.9? He abandoned
the cursing of ‘Ali b. Abi Talib—peace be upon him—from the pulpit,”° and
replaced it with: “O Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in belief,
and do not set in our hearts rancor toward those who believe. Our Lord, surely
Thou art merciful and compassionate.” People have followed this custom in
the Friday sermon until the present day.

Then came Yazīd b. ‘Abd al-Malik." He was the first caliph to acquire a
singing slave-girl and the first over whose affairs a woman gained control. Hab-
baba, his singing slave-girl, used to appoint and dismiss, set free and imprison,
command and forbid. Along with this, he was swift to shed blood and seize
property, and his governors reverted to their former injustice.

Then came Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwān.”3 He was harsh, rough,
crude, and miserly. He amassed wealth, developed agriculture, and sought
excellence in everything made for him in the way of clothing and furniture,
severely punishing any shortcomings in this regard.7* It was in his time that
figured silk was made.” People in the days of Hisham all followed his lead in

68 Ruled 99/717 to 101/720 and held up by later historians as the only truly pious Umayyad
caliph; see the article by P. M. Cobb in E73, s.v. ‘Umar (11) b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz.

69 Parallel, al-Mastūdī, Murūj, 4:17 (§ 2171).

70 A practice said to have been originated by Mu'awiya and continued by his successors.

71 Ourān 59:10.

72 Ruled 101/720 to 105/724; see the article by H. Lammens and Kh. Y. Blankinship in £1’, s.v.
Yazid (11) b. ‘Abd al-Malik.

73 Ruled 105/724 to 125/743; see the article by F. Gabrieli in EI”, s.v. Hisham.

74 Parallel, al-Mastūdī, Murūj, 4:41 (§ 2219).

75 Arabic al-khazz al-raqm. The exact meaning, apart from the fact that the material must
have been either entirely or partly of silk, is unclear. It may be a way of referring to the
bands known as tirāz embroidered with the caliph's name, or it may refer to striped cloth
of silk. Yedida Stillman and Paula Sanders in Er, s.v. Tirāz, note that Hisham was the first
Umayyad caliph mentioned as having tirāz factories and that he was known as “a dandy
and a great lover of fine robes, textiles, and carpets."

42 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

withholding what was in their hands, lack of generosity, and abstaining from
charity, so that it was said that no time had ever been seen more difficult for the
people than his. This was because he discontinued the generosity, subsidies,
rewards, and gifts that the caliphs used to bestow. People used this as a pretext,
followed his course, and imitated him. Abu Salim al-A'raj once said to him: “You
are nothing but a market; whatever sells briskly with you gets carried to you.’”6

Al-Walid b. Yazid b. ‘Abd al-Malik’? was a devotee of wine, amusement,
music, and listening to singing. He was the first to import singers from the
provinces; he consorted with entertainers and made a public show of wine,
entertainments, and music. The singer Ibn Surayj lived in his days, as well as
Mabad, al-Gharid, Ibn ‘Aisha, Ibn Muhriz, Tuways, and Dahman.”8 Vocal music

76 Abū Salim appears to be a mistake for Abū Hazim al-A'raj (full name Salama b. Dinar),
who is listed by al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:396, as one of the learned men in Hisham’s reign.
The meaning of the saying is unclear. The first two pronouns are plural and probably
refer to the Umayyads as a whole; the third pronoun, singular, probably refers to Hisham
personally: "You (Umayyads) are a market such that to you (Umayyads) gets carried (only)
what sells briskly (i.e., is in demand) with you (Hisham).’ It may have something to do with
the sharp reply with which this Medinese jurist is said to have met a caliphal invitation to
come to Damascus. The anecdote is given by Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, 4344, but unfortunately
the caliph is identified as Sulayman, not Hisham. In any case, the caliph is supposed to
have sent al-Zuhri to invite al-A'raj to come to Damascus. The jurist replied: “If he has any
need, let him come; as for me, I have no need for him." This is as if to say: "What I have (viz.
learning) would not be in demand in your market" (where only gourmet food and luxury
garments are in demand). But this interpretation is conjectural.

77 Al-Walīd r1 ruled 125—126/743—44, then was deposed and killed. He is best known for his
poetry; see the article by Renata Jacobi in EI”, s.v. al-Walid.

78 Al-Ya‘qubi’s chronology, placing all of these singers in the time of al-Walid 11, is wrong,
as most of them were active before his reign. The mistake may have been caused by al-
Walid īrs reputation for dissoluteness. Although some sources place the death of Ibn
Surayj as late as 126/744, most connect him with al-Walid b. ‘Abd al-Malik (al-Walid 1),
who invited him from the Hijaz to Damascus, and place his death in 96/714, before the
caliphate of al-Walid 11 (see the article by J. W. Fück in EI, s.v. Ibn Suraydj). Mabad b.
Wahb is reported to have been invited to court by al-Walid 11, but died shortly after his
arrival in 125/743 or 126/744; his heyday was in the reigns of al-Walid b. 'Abd al-Malik and
Yazid b. ‘Abd al-Malik (see the article by H. G. Farmer and E. Neubauer in E1?, s.v. Ma‘bad b.
Wahb). Al-Gharid is usually said to have died in 98/716—717, although some reports show
him living at the court of Yazid b. ‘Abd al-Malik sometime between 101/720 and 105/724
(see the article by H. G. Farmer in Er, s.v. al-Gharid). Ibn "Kisha is said to have been invited
to Damascus by al-Walid b. Yazid, then a prince, sometime during the caliphate of Hisham
b. ‘Abd al-Malik, and to have died before al-Walīd 11 became caliph (see the article in £1?,
s.v. Ibn Aisha). On Ibn Muhriz, who may or may not have appeared at the court of al-
Walid 11, see the article in £7’, s.v. Ibn Muhriz. Tuways rose to fame as early as the reign

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 43

became the rage among the nobility, and people acquired lutes. Al-Walid was
profligate, dissolute, and shameless.”9

Then came Yazid b. al-Walid b. ‘Abd al-Malik.8° His days were not long
enough for his character and ways of acting to become widely known, except
that he professed the doctrine of /'tizal and would argue in its defense.*!

Then came Marwan b. Muhammad b. Marwan b. al-Hakam.8? He was at war
during all his days; except that he was the first caliph to display 'asabiyya openly
and to incite it among the people.9? His secretary was ‘Abd al-Hamid b. Yahya
b. Sa'd, the author of the epistles.8^ At the beginning of his career he had been
a teacher, and he was the first to write lengthy epistles and to make use of
elaborate doxologies in the sections of his letters.55 People took up this usage
after him.

of Uthmān and died in 92/71 (see the article by H. G. Farmer and E. Neubauer in EI”,
s.v. Tuways). Dahman was a pupil of Ma‘bad, and so may have been active in the reign of
al-Walid 11 (see the article on Ma‘bad already cited).

79 Parallel, al-Mas'üdi, Murūj, 4:50 (§ 2238).

80 That is, Yazid 111, who died of natural causes after a rule of approximately six months in
126/744. See the article by G. R. Hawting in £7°, s.v. Yazid (111) b. al-Walid (1).

81 Ttizāl (standing aside, remaining neutral) became the designation of the school of
thought espoused by a group of thinkers collectively called Mu'tazila (see the article by
D. Gimaret in E1?, s.v.). It would be anachronistic to ascribe membership in this school to
Yazid 111, but he was known for supporting the doctrines of the Qadariyya, a predecessor of
the latter school, which emphasized man's free will, as opposed to God's predetermination
of human actions. See the article by J. van Ess in E1?, s.v. Kadariyya. The parallel in al-
Mastūdī, Murūj, 4:58 (8 2254) simply says that Yazid followed the doctrine of the Mu'tazila
(qawl al-Mu tazila) and then lists the components of this doctrine.

82 The last of the Umayyad caliphs, Marwan 11 ruled from 127/744 to 132/750; see the article
by G. R. Hawting in £7’, s.v. Marwan 11.

83 . Asabiyya literally means “loyalty to one's kinship group” from ‘asaba, meaning one's
relations in the male line. Here the word is used in the larger sense of tribalism, although
ascribing its rise to such a late date is not accurate, since rivalries and fighting between
various tribal alliances had been endemic long before this time. However, al-Mas'üdi,
Murüj, 4:66 ff. (§ 2267 ff.) has a long section on the rivalry between the tribal groupings
of Yamaniyya and Nizariyya during the days of Marwan.

84 'Abdal-Hamīdisgenerally accounted the founder of Arabic epistolary prose. Six of his long
compositions survive, the most famous of them being his epistle of advice to Marwan's son
and heir ‘Abdallah and his epistle setting forth the dignity of the secretarial office. See the
article by Wadad al-Qadi in z7, s.v. ‘Abd al-Hamid b. Yahya al-Katib.

85 Literally, “he used tahmīdāt” These were elaborate passages of praise to God, full of
Quranic allusions and other literary devices. J. D. Latham in his article "The Beginnings
of Arabic Prose Literature: the Epistolary Genre,” in Arabic Literature to the End of the
Umayyad Period, 173, calls them “congratulatory ‘Te Deums' in which the author gives
thanks and praises to God for some victory won for Islam by the addressee.’

44 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN
An Account of the ‘Abbasid Caliphs

Abu l-Abbàs came to power as Commander of the Faithful; he was ‘Abdal-
lah b. Muhammad b. ‘Ali b. ‘Abdallah b. al-‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib.6 His
first action that people imitated was to deliver the sermon (khutba) on the
pulpit standing—the Umayyads had delivered it seated. The people therefore
acclaimed him, saying, “O descendant of the uncle of the Messenger of God,
you have revived the practice (sunna) of the Messenger of God— God's bless-
ings and peace be upon him."?? He was quick to command the shedding of
blood:9? al-Ash'ath3? shed it in the Maghrib, and Salih b. ‘Ali9° in Egypt; Hazim

86 Known by his sobriquet “al-Saffah” ("the Spiller,’ sc. of blood) to which al-Ya'qübi will
soon allude, he came to power in the revolution that overthrew the Umayyads. He was
proclaimed caliph in Kufa in 132/749 and ruled until his death in 136/754. The genealogy
here traces his ancestry to the Prophet's uncle, al-‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib, from whom
the dynasty took its name and claim to legitimacy. See the article by S. Moscati in EI, s.v.
Abū "l- Abbas al-Saffah.

87 Parallel, al-Mas'udi, Murūj, 4:94 (8 2308).

88 Anintriguingparallelto al-Ya‘qubi's section on the character of the ‘Abbasid caliphs occurs
in al-Mas‘tdi, Murüj, 5:211-215 (8 3445-3458). Al-Mas'üdi reports a conversation between
a courtier of the Caliph al-Qahir (r. 320/932 to 322/934) and an otherwise unknown anti-
quarian/historian (akhbārī) Muhammad b. ‘Ali al-‘Abdi (accepting the alternate read-
ing for the printed al-Misri; cf. Rosenthal, A History of Muslim Historiography, 2nd ed.,
58—59) al-Khurasani (still alive, according to al-Mas'üdi, ibid., 5:215 [8 3458], in 333/944-
945). At the caliph's command, this courtier gives a series of character sketches of the
‘Abbasid caliphs from al-Saffah to al-Mutawakkil that so closely echoes al-Ya‘qubi (who
died c. 292/905)—the remainder of this paragraph, for example, occurs in al-Mas'üdi
almost verbatim— that the material must have come directly from al-Ya‘qubi’s work, from
one of its immediate sources, or from a subsequent author who quoted al-Ya‘qubi. Unfor-
tunately, the isnād in al-Mas'üdi is of no help in determining whence this Muhammad b.
‘Ali drew his material, which occasionally presents a fuller text than that in the Mushakala.

89 Inal-Mas'udi Murüj, 5:231 (§ 3445), he and the following people are identified as governors
appointed by al-Saffah. Al-Ash'ath is Muhammad b. al-Ash‘ath al-Khuza' (not to be con-
fused with two other figures who shared the name “al-Ash‘ath” [“having unkempt hair"]),
a military commander who served the ‘Abbasids in a variety of capacities from the time of
Abū Muslim until his death in 149/766. His activity in North Africa involved the retaking
in 144/761 (hence not under al-Saffah, but under his successor al-Mansür) of the city of al-
Qayrawan in Ifriqiya, which had been occupied by the Ibadiyya, a Kharijite group. See the
article in EI”, s.v. al-Kayrawan.

go A member of the ‘Abbasid family, Salih b. ‘Ali b. ‘Abdallah b. al-Abbas served twice as
governor of Egypt (for a year beginning in 133/750 and again in 136—137/753-55). See the
article by A. Grohmann and H. Kennedy in £7’, s.v. Salih b. ‘Ali.

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 45

b. Khuzayma shed it, and Humayd b. Qahtaba shed it in Iraq; ‘Abdallah b. ‘Ali
shed it in Syria; Dāwūd b. ‘Ali shed it in the Hijaz; and his brother Yahya b.
Muhammad shed it in Mosul. Nevertheless, he was generous, free, and open-
handed with money.

Then came Abt Jafar al-Mansur ‘Abdallah b. Muhammad.?! He was the first
Hashimite to sow division between the descendants of al-‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-
Muttalib and those of Abu Talib b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib, so that people took to
saying, "an ‘Abbasi,” or "a Talibi.9? Previously, it had been the affair of all the
Banu Hashim.% He was the first caliph who acquired astrologers and acted
in accordance with the stars.?^ He was the first caliph who translated ancient
Persian books and rendered them into the Arabic tongue.% In his days the
book Kalīla and Dimna®® was translated; the book Sindhind?7 was translated;

91 The second ‘Abbasid caliph, r. 136—158/754—775. See the article by H. Kennedy in ET, s.v.
al-Mansür.

92 That is, people began to differentiate politically between ‘Abbasis, those who supported
the ‘Abbasids’ claim to authority based on their descent from the Prophet's uncle, al-
‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib b. Hashim, and Talibis, those who supported the claims of the
descendants of ‘Ali b. Abi Talib.

93 Thatis, supporters of the right of close relatives of the Prophet to the caliphate had made
common cause, not distinguishing between descendants of al-‘Abbas (the 'Abbasids) and
those of Abū Talib (the Talibids). The text as printed translates, “It was said, ‘That was the
name of all the Banü Hashim.” Millward, in his edition of the Arabic text, notes that the
word ism (name) is unclear in the Ms. The parallel in al-Mastūdī, Murūj, 5:211 (8 3446),
reads amr (thing, affair), which is graphically similar, makes more sense, and has been
translated here. For gīla (it was said), al-Mastūdī reads qablu (previously), which also has
been used as the basis for the translation.

94 The parallel in al-Mas'üdi names three astronomers/astrologers at this point (Nawbakht,
Ibrahim al-Fazārī, and Alī b. Īsā) with information about each. If they were originally part
of al-Ya‘qubi's essay, one might infer that the text of the Mushakala has been truncated.
Another possibility is that they occurred in al-Ya‘qubi's source or were added by a subse-
quent transmitter between al-Ya‘qubi and Muhammad b. ‘Ali.

95 AlYatgūbīs language gives the mistaken impression that al-Mansur personally translated
the books. Al-Mas'üdi is more careful: "He was the first caliph for whom books were
translated from the Persian language into Arabic.”

96 Originally an Indian (Sanskrit) mirror for princes in the form of an extended series of
beast-fables, translated from Middle Persian by Ibn al-Muqaffa' sometime before 139/756,
when al-Mansür had him put to death.

97 An Indian astronomical treatise whose Sanskrit title probably ended with the word Sid-
dhanta (perfected). Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 1:92: “Scholars have said that the first of the kings
of India under whom they became united was Brahman .... He was the first person who
discoursed about the stars. From him was derived knowledge of them and the first book,

46 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

the books of Aristotle were translated, and the Almagest of Ptolemy, the book of
Euclid, the book Arithmetic,98 and the rest of the non-Arabic books on the stars,
computation, medicine, philosophy, and other things, and people examined
them. In his days, also, Muhammad b. Ishaq b. Yasar set down the books of the
Maghāzī;?? they had not been collected or well known before that. He was the
first caliph who built a city and settled in it: the city of Baghdad. A horoscope
was cast for him about the time to commence building it, and he was told that
no caliph would ever die there. Abu Ja‘far interested himself in scholarship
and transmitted hadith. In his days, the sciences that people studied and the
traditions they transmitted became numerous. He was the first caliph who
appointed his clients (mawalt) and slaves (ghilmān) as officials and advanced
them over the Arabs. After his death, the caliphs who were his descendants
followed his example.

Al-Mahdi?°° was generous, munificent, noble, and open-handed with mon-
ey; and the people in his time followed his example. People in the days of
al-Mahdilived in ample circumstances.!?! Whenever he rode out, bags of coins
were carried with him; anyone who asked him for a boon received it from
his own hand, and the people imitated him. His objective was to kill the
Manichaeans,?? because they had become numerous. Among the things that
Ibn al-Muqaffa' had translated were books by the dualist Mani, by the dualist

which the Indians call the Sindhind, which means ‘Eon of Eons.” See the article by D. Pin-
gree in EI’, s.v. Sindhind.

98 Arabic Arithmatiqi (transliterating the Greek title), a treatise by the mathematician Nico-
machus of Gerasa, whose book is summarized in al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 1140-143, where he is
mistakenly identified as Nicomachus the father of Aristotle.

99 Maghazi is the usual term for the Prophet's military expeditions and raids from Medina.
Since the work of Muhammad b. Ishaq included the Prophet's earlier life in Mecca, the
word may here have a broader connotation. (See the article by M. Hinds in £1’, s.v.
Maghazi.) The parallel in al-Mas'üdi mentions the three sections of Ibn Ishàq's work
explicitly: “In his days, Muhammad b. Ishaq set down the books of the Maghazi, the Siyar
(“ways of acting"), and Reports of the Inception (of the Prophet's mission)"

100 Al-Mansür' son, the third ‘Abbasid caliph, who ruled from 158/775 to 169/785. See the
article by H. Kennedy in E72, s.v. al-Mahdi.

101 Arabic ittasa‘a Lnas ... fi ma'ayishihim. The parallel in al-Mas'üdi, Murüj, 5:212 (82447)
reads fa-ttasat fi masa'ihim, “and so they were expansive in their (good, charitable)
efforts,” which better fits the context.

102 Arabic zanadiqa (pl. of zindiq), the usual designation for Manichaeans, followers of the
religion founded by Mani (b. 216 CE, put to death c. 274) although it could designate various
other sects considered heretical. See the article in £1’, s.v. Zindik.

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 47

Ibn Daysan,!°3 and by others, and there were the works of Ibn Abi l-Awja';04
Hammad ‘Ajrad,!©5 Yahya b. Ziyād,!°6 and Muti‘ b. Iyas,!©” whereby they had
filled the earth with books by heretics. The Manichaeans became numerous
and their books spread among the people. He was the first caliph who com-
manded the theologians to compose books against the heretics. He rebuilt the
Sacred Mosque as it is to this day, and he rebuilt the Mosque of the Messenger
of God— God's blessings and peace be upon him—which had been destroyed
by earthquakes.!08

Then came Musa b. al-Mahdi.!°9 He was a tyrant. He was the first caliph
before whom men marched with drawn swords, halberds, and strung bows. His
governors imitated him and followed in his ways.

Then came Harun al-Rashid b. al-Mahdi.!? He was constant in performing
the pilgrimage, conducting military campaigns, and building cisterns and

103 Better known by the Syriac version of his name, Bar Disan, or its Greek version, Barde-
sanes, he was active in Edessa and died in 201CE. His extent works display a syncretistic
religion that fuses Christian and dualistic elements. See the article by Patricia Crone in
E13, s.v. Daysanis.

104 Correcting the printed text, which has Ibn Abi l-Arja. Ibn Abi l-Awja, a member of a
prominent family, lived at Basra and later at Kufa, where he was put to death in 155/772.
Muslim historians depict him as “a man of dangerous heterodoxy, who, on his own
admission, invented numerous traditions, falsified the calendar and spread Manichaean
propaganda by means of insidious questions relating to the problem of suffering and of
divine justice, and who was a believer in the eternity of the world and in metempsychosis."
(G. Vajda in E12, s.v. Ibn Abi "I--Awdja".)

105 Hammad ‘Ajrad (d. c. 161/777-778), was a poet known for his satires and libertine verses,
but he was also accused of religious heterodoxy (zandaqa). See the article by Ch. Pellat in
EI’, sv. Hammad ‘Adjrad.

106 Yahya b. Ziyād was a poet and member of the same circle as Muti‘ b. Iyās, who wrote an
elegy for him as “his companion in debauchery” (thus Ch. Pellat in £7°, s.v. Muti‘ b. Iyas).

107 Muti‘ b. Iyās (d. 169/785 at Basra) was a poet and member of a circle whose libertine
manner of living eventually attracted charges of religious heterodoxy. See the article by
Ch. Pellat in E12, s.v. Muti‘ b. Iyās.

108 The parallel in al-Mas'üdi, Murüj, 5:212 (8 3447) differs in one detail: “He began to rebuild
the Sacred Mosque and the Mosque of the Messenger of God— God's blessings and peace
be upon him—as the two are to this day, and he rebuilt Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis), which
had been destroyed by earthquakes."

109 The fourth ‘Abbasid caliph, Musa al-Hadi, ruled from 169/785 until his sudden death in
170/786. See the article by D. Sourdel in E12, s.v. al-Hadi Ila 'L-hakk.

110 The fifth ‘Abbasid caliph, Hārūn al-Rashid, ruled from 170/786 until 193/809. See the article
by F. Omar in E12, s.v. Harün al-Rashid.

111 Arabic ghazw, conducting military expeditions into “infidel” (that is, Byzantine) territory.

48 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

forts on the road to Mecca and Medina and in Mecca, Medina, Mina, and
"Arafāt.!!? He built eight forts like those at Tarsus and elsewhere, and built hous-
ing for troops stationed on the frontiers. His family, governors, companions,
and secretaries imitated him; there remained no one who did not build a house
in Mecca, a house in Medina, and a house in Tarsüs, to imitate him and do as
he had done. The ones who did this the most and left the finest legacy were his
wife, Umm Jafar bt. Ja'far b. al-Mansur, followed by his viziers the Barmakids,
and others of his clients, officials,“ and secretaries. Moreover, al-Rashid was
the first caliph to play at polo and bowls and to shoot arrows in the game called
birjas,"* and he promoted people skillful at these things. He was the first caliph
to play chess and backgammon; he promoted players and granted them pen-
sions. He was the first caliph of the Banu Hashim who acquired singing girls.!5
People one and all imitated him and followed his path. His viziers were from
the Barmakid family.!!6 Yahya b. Khalid!" loved philosophy, theology, and spec-
ulation. There were many theologians in his days; they argued, debated, and
wrote books. Among them were Hisham b. al-Hakam,"® Dirar b. 'Amr,!? and

112 The road to Mecca and Medina is the famous Darb Zubayda (Zubayda's Highway, named
for al-Rashid's wife Umm Jafar Zubayda bt. Ja‘far b. al-Mansur). It ran from Kufa to Mecca,
with a branch to Medina. See the article by Saad A. al-Rashid and M. J. L. Young in EI?, s.v.
Darb Zubayda.

113 Arabic quwwad, pl. of gā'id; in modern usage generally restricted to military leaders, but
in earlier usage more general. See Dozy, Supplément, 2:417, s.v.

114 A version of this game of skill or military exercise, documented from the time of al-
Mu'tadid (r. 279/892 to 289/902), involved a contestant on horseback having to get his
lance-point through a metal ring fixed to the top of a wooden column, thereby demon-
strating his skill at controlling his horse and aiming his weapon. See the article by C.
E. Bosworth in E72, s.v. Isti‘rad/‘Ard.

115 The piety of the Hashimites as close kin of the Prophet was often contrasted with the
dissoluteness of the Umayyads (al-Ya'qübi has already mentioned music or singing girls
in connection with the Umayyad caliphs Yazid b. Mu‘awiya, Yazid b. ‘Abd al-Malik, and al-
Walid b. Yazid b. ‘Abd al-Malik). Therefore, the development of a hedonistic culture at the
‘Abbasid court was in a way unexpected.

116 On this family of Iranian origin that produced a series of secretaries and viziers for the
early ‘Abbasid caliphs, see the article by Kevin van Bladel in £13, s.v. Barmakids.

117 Yahya b. Khalid b. Barmak was al-Rashid's vizier from 170/786 to 187/803.

118 A Shiī theologian (d. 179/795-796) associated with the imams Ja‘far al-Sadiq and Musa
1-Kazim, and later with a circle of theologians who held disputations in the presence of
Yahya b. Khalid al-Barmaki. See the article by W. Madelung in £7’, s.v. Hisham b. al-Hakam.

119 A prolific Mu'tazili theologian (d. c. 200/815) who took part in the debates organized by
Yahya b. Khalid al-Barmakī. See the article by J. van Ess in EI”, s.v. Dirar b. ‘Amr.

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 49

Mu‘ammar b. ‘Umar.!?° He also delved into books of alchemy.!?! The Barmakids
were generous, noble, bountiful, and beneficent. Their officials and people one
and all imitated them, so much so that the days of al-Rashid, due to the mul-
titude of benefactors then living, used to be called “wedding-party days.’ The
deeds of the Barmakids are famous and renowned, but there was no one in al-
Rashid's entourage who was not a benefactor, either by nature or by imitation.
Al-Rashid was the first caliph to write in the headings of letters: "And I pray
that He will bless Muhammad, His servant and messenger— God's blessings
and peace be upon him” The caliphs after him followed his example. He was
the first caliph to wear the tall Rusafi cap.!2? He was the first caliph who wrote
in white on the black banners, “There is no god but God, Muhammad is the
messenger of God."123

As for Umm Ja‘far bt. Jafar b. al-Mansur, she was always trying to outdo
al-Rashid in everything, be it serious or frivolous.!2* As for the serious, there
were the beautiful monuments that had no equal in the realms of Islam. She
excavated the spring at ‘Ayn al-Mushash and channeled its water twelve Arab
miles to Mecca, spending 1,700,000 dinars on it. Then she constructed cisterns,
fountains, and places for ablutions around the Sacred Mosque. She built hostels
and cisterns at Mina, fountains at ‘Arafat, and dug wells at Mina on the road
from Mecca. For the upkeep of these things, she designated as charitable
endowments (waqf) in perpetuity estates with an annual revenue of 30,000
dinars. She built hostels in the frontier districts and established hospitals, and
she designated as endowments in perpetuity for the frontiers, the poor, and the
destitute estates with a revenue of 100,000 dinars. As for the things whereby

120 Thus in the printed text, but probably a mistake for the well-known Mu tazili theologian
Mu'ammar b. 'Abbad (d. 215/830) also associated with the court of Harün al-Rashid. See
the article by H. Daiber in E12, s.v. Mu‘ammar b. ‘Abbad.

121 Arabic al-kimiyd? (the ultimate source of the English word "alchemy”). See the article by
Regula Forster in E13, s.v. Alchemy.

122 Arabic al-galansuwa al-tawila al-rusafiyya, named for the al-Rusafa quarter of Baghdad on
the east bank of the Tigris, a military center and the location of al-Mahdīs great palace.
On the galansuwa headgear, see the article by W. Bjorkman in £7’, s.v. Kalansuwa. On al-
Rusafa, see the article by C. E. Bosworth in £1’, s.v. al-Rusafa.

123 The banners of the ‘Abbasids since the beginning of their revolution were black. This
seems to imply that the banners originally had no writing on them and that the addition
of this motto was an innovation.

124 Parallel, often more elaborately worded, to this section on al-Rashid's wife in al-Mas'üdi,
Murüj, 5:213 (§ 3450).

50 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

kings seek ease and pleasure, she was the first person in Islam to have utensils
of gold and silver inlaid with jewels made. She wore such fine variegated silk!25
that a single dress made for her cost 50,000 dinars. She was the first to employ a
private bodyguard (shakiriyya) consisting of mounted servants and slave-girls,
who would come and go on her errands, carrying her messages and letters.!26
She was the first to have palanquins made from silver, ebony, and sandalwood,
their top and fastenings being of gold and silver, lined with variegated silk
(washy), sable, brocade, cloth of silk and wool (khazz), cloth of silk and cotton
(mulham), and cloth of the sort called dabīgī.!?7 She was the first who had
gowns made with pearls interspersed with jewels, as well as ambergris candles.
The people imitated Umm Jafar in all her works.

Then came Muhammad al-Amin.!28 He was the son of al-Rashid, and his
mother was Umm Jafar. He promoted eunuchs,29 favoring them and ele-
vating their estates. When Umm Ja‘far saw his weakness for eunuchs, she
obtained some slender, fair-faced slave girls, cut their hair into bangs and short
at the temples and the back of the neck, dressed them in sleeved tunics and
waistbands—she was the first to do this—sent them to him, and put them on
display to the people. As a result, courtiers and ordinary folk acquired slave
girls, cut their hair short, dressed them in sleeved tunics and waistbands, and
called them "page girls" (ghulamiyyat). Muhammad's days, until he was killed,
were short.

Then came al-Mamūn as Commander of the Faithful, the son of al-
Rashid.?? At the beginning of his caliphate, under the influence of al-Fadl

125 Arabic washy, which can refer either to variegated silk or to cloth of gold.

126 On such private bodyguards and militias see the article by Khalil ‘Athamina in E12, s.v.
Shakiriyya.

127 That is, cloths of the sort for which the Egyptian town of Dabiq, near Damietta, was
famous. The city specialized in the manufacture of fine textiles embossed with gold, as
well as multicolored linen. See the article in by G. Wiet in EI, s.v. Dabik.

128 The sixth ‘Abbasid caliph, ruled from 193/809 to 198/813, when he was overthrown by his
brother al-Ma'mün in a civil war. See the article by Michael Cooperson in £15, s.v. al-Amin,
Muhammad.

129 The word for eunuchs used here is khadam, which can also mean servants. The parallel in
al-Mas'üdi refers specifically to the favor granted to Kawthar, who was almost certainly a
eunuch. For an obscene poem implying that al-Amin had sexual relations with Kawthar,
see al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3:804—805 (trans. M. Fishbein, The History of al-Tabari, xXx1, 58—59).
In any case, the remainder of the paragraph leaves little doubt about what is implied.

130 Abdallah b. Harün, surnamed al-Ma'mūn, the seventh ‘Abbasid caliph, ruled from 196/812

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 51

[b. Sahl],!5! he occupied himself with astrology, emulated the ways of the
kings of the Persians, and was fond of reading ancient books. But when he
arrived in Iraq, he put these things aside and professed the doctrines of Jus-
tice and Monotheism.?? He associated with theologians, jurists, and literary
men, brought them from the provinces, and granted them subsidies. There were
many theologians in his days, and each wrote a book to defend his own doc-
trine and refute his opponents. He was the most generous of men in granting
pardon, the most able of them, the most liberal with wealth, and the most lav-
ish with gifts. As for his clemency, he pardoned Ibrahim [b.] al-Mahdi, who,
after having been his governor of Basra, cast off his allegiance, claimed the
caliphate for himself, styled himself Commander of the Faithful, and made
war on al-Ma'mün's supporters.?? He pardoned al-Fadl b. al-Rabi‘, the person
who had induced Muhammad [al-Amin] to remove al-Ma'mūn as heir appar-
ent and had sent armies to fight him; al-Ma'mun subsequently guaranteed his
safety, but he became disloyal and called on the people to swear allegiance to
Ibrahim b. al-Mahdī.!4 He pardoned Ismāfl b. Ja‘far b. Sulayman, who had cast
off his obedience and had said the most scurrilous things about him.!*5 He par-

(when he was proclaimed caliph by his supporters during the lifetime of his brother, al-
Amin, whom he overthrew in a civil war) to 218/833. See the article by M. Rekaya in EI’,
s.v. al-Ma'mün. Parallel, al-Mas‘udi, Murüj, 5:214 (8 3453).

131 Al-Fadl b. Sahl, al-Ma'mün's tutor and trusted advisor, was instrumental in his rise to
power. When al-Ma'mün became caliph, al-Fadl became both vizier and military com-
mander (hence his title Dhū (-Riāsatayn, “the Man with Two Commands"). He continued
to exercise authority until his assassination in 202/818. See the article by Hayrettin Yücesoy
in E13, s.v. al-Fadl b. Sahl.

132 Arabic al-‘adl wa L-tawhid, shorthand for the main Mu'tazili doctrines.

133 In 202/817, Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi was involved in an abortive revolt sparked by opposition
to al-Ma'mün's naming of ‘Ali al-Rida as his heir. The revolt was effectively quashed
by 204/819. In fact, Ibrahim spent several years in hiding, was imprisoned after being
discovered, and was pardoned only in 210/825-826, whereupon he returned to Baghdad
and devoted himself to poetry and music. See the article by D. Sourdel in £1, s.v. Ibrahim
b. al-Mahdi.

134 As vizier to al-Amin, al-Fadl b. al-Rabi‘ was responsible for al-Amin's decision to deprive
his brother al-Ma'mün of the succession rights specified in al-Rashid's testament and
proclaim his own son heir apparent. After al-Amin was defeated in the civil war, al-Fadl
b. al-Rabi‘ went into hiding, but emerged to support the abortive revolt of Ibrahim b. al-
Mahdi. He was later granted pardon. See the article by D. Sourdel in £1’, s.v. al-Fadl b.
al-Rabr.

135 Ismail b. Jafar b. Sulayman, al-Ma'mün's governor of Basra, refused to accept the naming

52 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

doned Nu'aym b. Hazim, who had kept fighting him for a number of years.6 He
pardoned ‘Isa b. Muhammad b. [Abi] Khalid, who had broken his oath of alle-
giance time after time and had fought al-Ma'mūrrs supporters and had killed
the latter's chief of police.!7 He pardoned the “volunteer” Sahl b. Salama, who
wore wool, hung a copy of the Qur'an around his neck, and commanded peo-
ple to depose al-Ma'mün and that no one should grant him obedience.!% He
pardoned the Kharijite Mahdi b. ‘Alwan, who styled himself Commander of
the Faithful, fought against al-Ma'mun's supporters, and whom al-Ma'mün cap-
tured without any pledge or promise of safety.?? He pardoned the poet Di'bil,
who had composed the most scurrilous sort of satire against him.!4° He par-
doned ‘Ubayd|allah] b. al-Sari b. al-Hakam, who had taken control of Egypt
and continued fighting for a number of years.!*! He pardoned the ‘Alid Muham-

of ‘Ali al-Rida as heir apparent in 201/817 and called for the deposition of al-Ma’min. He
was later pardoned. See the account in al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:545.

136 Nu‘aym b. Hazim was another dignitary who refused to accept al-Ma'mün's naming of ‘Ali
al-Rida. Al-Ma'mūn then sent him to fight against Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi, but Nu'aym went
over to the latter's side. He was later pardoned. See Michael Cooperson, Classical Arabic
Biography: The Heirs of the Prophets in the Age of Al-Ma'mūn, 193—194.

137 Onthe part played by ‘Isa b. Muhammad b. Abi Khilid in the revolt of Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi
and his later service to al-Ma'mün, see al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:547-548, 564.

138 Arabic, Sahl b. Salama al-Muttawwi. The epithet is derived from Qur’an 2:158, 184: “And
whoso volunteers good (man tatawwa'a khayran), God is All-grateful, All-knowing.” And,
“Yet better it is for him who volunteers good (man tatawwa‘a khayran) ...” In 201/817, Sahl b.
Salama al-Ansari led a popular pietistic movement in the al-Harbiyya quarter of Baghdad
that challenged the governments authority. See the account in al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:1008-
1012, 1023—1025, 1034, 1035-1036 (trans. C. E. Bosworth, The History of al-Tabari, Xxx11,
55-60, 75—78, 90, 92); also the article by Wilferd Madelung, "The Vigilante Movement of
Sahl b. Salama al-Khurasani and the Origins of Hanbalism Reconsidered.”

139 On the revolt of Mahdi b. 'Alwān in 202/817-818 or 203/819, see al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:548;
al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:1016—1017.

140 On the poet Di'bil (a nom de plume of ‘Ali b. Muhammad al-Khuzat), who lived from
148/765 to 246/860, see the article by L. Zolondek in EI, s.v. Dibil. One of Di'bil's satires
of al-Ma'mün is cited at al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:1155—1156 (trans. C. E. Bosworth, The History of
al-Tabari, Xxx11, 248—249).

141 ‘Ubaydallah b. al-Sari b. al-Hakam had been commander of the guard (sāhib al-shurta) in
Egypt since 205/820-821, but declared himself governor in 206/822, resisting al-Ma'mūn's
attempts to replace him. In 210/825-826, al-Ma'mün sent ‘Abdallah b. Tahir with an army
to dislodge him. Although there was fighting, Ubaydallāh was treated very leniently
afterward. See al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:560—561; al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3:1086—1087, 1091, 1096-1098
(trans. C. E. Bosworth, The History of al-Tabari, XXX11, 159—160, 164, 171-173).

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 53

mad b. Ja‘far b. Muhammad, who had rebelled in Mecca and had styled him-
self Commander of the Faithful.!42 He pardoned Zayd b. Musa b. Jafar, who
had rebelled at Basra and had renounced allegiance to al-Ma'mūn.!3 He par-
doned the 'Alid Ibrahim b. Musa b. Jafar b. Muhammad, who had rebelled in
Yemen and had fought against al-Julüdi.^* He pardoned all who had usurped
authority:!45 Rabah b. Abi Ramtha, who had taken control in Diyar Rabr'a; al-
‘Abbas b. Zufar al-Hilali, who had taken control at Qurus in the military district
of Qinnasrin; Nasr b. Shabath!*6 al--Ugaylī, who had taken control in Diyar
Mudar, despite his having fought for a long time; Uthman b. Thumama al-‘Absi,
who had rebelled against him in the Hijaz; al-Hawan b. Hittān al-Tanūkhī, who
rebelled in Hadir Tanūkh;!*7 and others whom it would take too long to men-
tion in this book. He once said, “Pardoning has been made so attractive to me
that I do not think I shall be rewarded for it."

As for his generosity and open-handedness: On a single day he ordered that
1,500,000 dinars should be given to three individuals—500,000 dinars to each.
Once, when money ran short in the treasury, he assembled his companions
and said: "The money has run short, and that has harmed us and our friends.
Go and get us a loan from the merchants in the amount of 10 million dirhams
until the revenues come in and we repay." But Ghassan b. 'Abbad'^8 stood up,
recounted the favors al-Ma'mün had bestowed on him, and offered 30 million
dirhams, saying, “I have them on hand” Humayd b. ‘Abd al-Hamid al-Tusi'^?
said the same, and each of his companions present at the gathering stood up

142 This revolt, which took place in 200/815, receives a short notice in al-Ya'qübi, Ta’rikh, 2:540,
544; to which one can add the longer account in al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:989—994 (trans. C.
E. Bosworth, The History of al-Tabari, xxx11, 30—37).

143 On the revolt of this ‘Alid, surnamed Zayd al-Nar (“Zayd of the Fire" due to the large
number of houses of ‘Abbasids and their supporters he ordered to be burnt down) in
200/815—816, see al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:500, 540, 546; al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:986—987 (trans. C.
E. Bosworth, The History of al-Tabari, xxx11, 26—27).

144 On this revolt, which took place in 200/815—816, see al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:544—546; al-
Tabari, Tarīkh, 3:987—988 (trans. C. E. Bosworth, The History of al-Tabari, xxx11, 28—29).
{sa b. Yazid al-Julūdī was one of al-Ma'mün's military commanders.

145 The following list should be compared to al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:539-541.

146 MS Shabib, corrected on the basis of the form found elsewhere: e.g., al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh,
2:541, and al-Tabari, Ta’rikh, 3:975 and passim.

147 Hādir Tanükh means “the settlements of (the tribe) Tanūkh”; according to al-Ya‘qubi,
Ta’rikh, 2:541 (where the name appears as Hantan), the area was near Aleppo.

148 Subsequently governor of Khurāsān and then of Sind. More about his generosity will be
mentioned shortly by al-Ya‘qubi.

149 Thegeneral who was largely responsible for the defeat of Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi; more about

54 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

and offered what he had, until what they offered him amounted to 156 million
dirhams. He accepted nothing from any of them and rewarded them well. Once
the revenues were late. When news arrived that the land-tax revenues from
Fārs!50 had arrived, he rode out to look at it and then distributed all of it, so that
there remained only enough to pay the army, and he commanded al-Mu‘alla b.
Ayyub to take charge ofit.!*!

Al-Ma'mūn's companions, ministers, secretaries, and officials imitated!°? his
actions, walked in his ways, and followed his path. Among them was al-Hasan
b. Sahl.!5$ He was the noblest, the most generous, and the most benevolent of
men, the most comely of them in the face of misfortune and affliction,5^ and
the most patient in giving everyone what he asked. Humayd b. ‘Abd al-Hamid
al-Tūsī was generous, open-handed, and beneficent. He set aside estates with
a yearly revenue of 100,000 dinars as charitable trusts (wagf) for the benefit
of those belonging to noble families!55 and relatives of powerful people.!6 He
would turn no one away. Ghassan b. ‘Abbad was open-handed: on a single day
he distributed 13 million dirhams. Whenever anyone asked him to speak to al-
Ma'mun about some need, he gave it to him from his own funds and spoke
to al-Ma'mün. ‘Abdallah b. Tahir was a person of great manliness, patience,
and courtesy.!*7 On a single day he commanded that three of his compan-

his generosity will be mentioned shortly by al-Ya'qübi. See the article in E1?, s.v Humayd
b. ‘Abd al-Hamid.

150 The major province of southeastern Iran.

151 The incident is narrated at greater length in al-Tabarī, Tarīkh, 331431144 (trans. C. E. Bos-
worth, The History of al-Tabari, xxxi1, 234—236), where al-Mu'alla b. Ayyüb appears as the
official in charge of distributing pay to the army.

152 Reading with ed. Cairo, yatagayyalūn, rather than ed. Beirut, yatagabbalūn (accepted);
the words differ by only one diacritical dot.

153 The brother of the vizier al-Fadl b. Sahl, he served al-Ma'mün as secretary and governor in
Iraq. See the article by D. Sourdel in E12, s.v. al-Hasan b. Sahl.

154 Arabic ajmalahum li-n@ibatin wa-fadihah. Although the sense is ambiguous, this may refer
to al-Hasan’s reaction to the assassination of his brother in 202/818, or it may simply refer
to his readiness to relieve the misfortunes and afflictions of others.

155 Arabic ahl al-buyūtāt: “originally denoted those that belong to Persian families of the
highest nobility (Nóldeke, Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sassaniden, 71),
then, the nobles in general" (EP, s.v.).

156 Arabic dhawi l-aqdàr. For agdār as “powerful people” see Dozy, Supplément, 2:321.

157 Onthe career of this general, who served al-Ma'mūn in Iraq, Egypt, and Khurāsān, where
he ended his days (d. 230/844) as a virtually independent ruler, see the article by C. Ed-
mond Bosworth in £15, s.v. ‘Abdallah b. Tahir.

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 55

ions should be given 300,000 dinars—100,000 dinars apiece—and that three
persons should be given 150,000-50,000 dinars apiece. ‘Ali b. Hisham was the
most generous and manly of people; whenever he traveled, his kitchen would
be loaded onto 700 camels.5* Ahmad b. Yusuf, his secretary, was a person of
great manliness.!5 The people in general were of praiseworthy character. Once,
when the troops rioted in Baghdad and raised an uproar because their pay was
late, Faraj al-Rukhkhaji went out to them and guaranteed them a year's wages,
which he paid them from his own money.!60

Al-Ma'mün was the first caliph who wrote the words "In the Name of God,
the Merciful, the Compassionate" in the directions or addresses of his letters.!6!
He was the first caliph who assigned an Inspection Bureau to the army.!62
He was the first caliph who dated his letters with the name of his secretary;
previously they had been dated only with the name of the clerk who wrote
them (muharrir). These formalities!65 remained in use.

Then came al-Mu'tasim, who was Muhammad b. Hārūn al-Rashid.!6^ He
followed the path of al-Ma'mün in religious doctrine. His dominant interests

158 Alib.Hishàm al-Marwazi was a prominent Khurāsānian entrusted with the governorship
of Baghdad by al-Hasan b. Sahl, and later with the governorship of al-Jibal by al-Ma'mün.
He was executed in 217/832. See al-Tabari, Ta’rikh, 3:998, 107-1109 (trans. C. E. Bosworth,
The History of al-Tabari, XXXII, 42, 192194).

159 He was al-Ma'mūn's private secretary. See the article by D. Sourdel in E12, s.v. Ahmad b.
Yüsuf.

160 Faraj al-Rukhkhaji, a mavlā originally from Sistan, is reported as heading an army sent by
al-Ma'mün to Egypt (al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:556) and also served as overseer of the caliphal
private domains. See the references cited by C. E. Bosworth, The History of al-Tabari, XXx11,
107n.

161 Arabic unwanat (pl. of ‘unwan): the introductory portion of the letter, containing the des-
ignation of the sender and the addressee, each of whom received increasingly elaborate
honorific formulas under the ‘Abbasids. See the article by W. Björkman in £7?, s.v. Diplo-
matic.

162 Reading with the Ms and ed. Cairo, diwan al-'ard, rather than the emendation proposed
by Millward, dīwān al-fard (paymaster's department). On this bureau, concerned with
reviewing, inspecting, and classifying troops, see the article by C. E. Bosworth in £7, s.v.
Isti‘rad/‘Ard.

163 Reading with ed. Cairo, al-rusūm, instead of Millward's al-rumūz (signs, symbols).

164 The eighth ‘Abbasid caliph, Muhammad b. Hārūn, whose full regnal name al-Mu'tasim Bi
lah (He Who Holds Fast to God) recalls the language of Qur'an 4:146 and 22:78, ruled from
218/833 to 227/842. See the article by C. E. Bosworth in £7’, s.v. al-Mu'tasim Bi “lah.

56 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

were horsemanship and imitating the Persians. He wore garments with narrow
sleeves, and so the people narrowed the sleeves of their garments. He wore large
boots and square caps; he was the first to wear such a cap, and people began
wearing them in imitation of him.!65 They were named after him: people would
say “a Mu'tasimi cap.” He was the first caliph who rode on uncovered saddles!66
and used Persian utensils, and the people imitated him. In his time there was
no one among his viziers, officials, and secretaries who was characterized by
generosity, open-handedness, or benevolence except al-Hasan b. Sahl, despite
his limited circumstances,!67 and Ibn Abi Du’ad;!® the latter was a man of great
merit and courtesy. Ibn Abi Du'ad had the greatest influence over his affairs and
was favored by him.

Then came Harun al-Wathiq, the son of al-Mu'tasim.!6? His path in religion
and in the doctrine of God's justice was the same as that of his father, al-
Mu'tasim, and of his uncle, al-Ma'mün. He made this clearly apparent, tested
people for it, punished those who disagreed with him, and imprisoned those
who showed recalcitrance in the matter. He wrote to the judges near and far
that they should test such persons as had been previously certified as of good
character and not accept the testimony of anyone who did not adhere to his
doctrine.'7? This doctrine became dominant among the people and by means

165 Arabic al-shash al-murabba'a and shāshiyya murabba'a. Similar language occurs in the
parallel in al-Mas'üdi, Murüj, 5:214 (§ 3454), where al-Mu'tasim is said to have worn al-
galānis wa-l-shashiyyat (qalansuwas, tall hats already mentioned above, and shashiyyas).
The latter are a bit mysterious, but the word appears to refer to a style of cap. See Dozy,
Supplément, 2:802. Millward translated "scarf" (p. 342), but this seems less likely.

166 Arabic al-surūj al-makshüfa: the meaning is unclear. One might conjecture that they were
unpadded saddles. On al-Mu'tasim's love of polo, see al-Tabari, Ta’rikh, 3:1326—1327 (trans.
C. E. Bosworth, The History of al-Tabari, XXXIII, 212—213).

167 This may allude to the fact that al-Hasan b. Sahl, who has already been mentioned as
active during the reign of al-Ma'mün, retreated from public life after the assassination of
his brother, al-Fadl b. Sahl, and held no office under al-Mu'tasim, although he lived until
236/850-851. See the article by D. Sourdel in E12, s.v. al-Hasan b. Sahl.

168 Ahmad b. Abi Du'ad began his career at the court of al-Ma'mün, and, recommended by
the latter, was made chief gadi after al-Mu‘tasim’s succession to the caliphate. As such, he
was instrumental in enforcing adherence to the Mu'tazili doctrines favored by al-Ma'mün
and al-Mu'tasim. See the article by John P. Turner in £1°, s.v. Ahmad b. Abi Du'ad.

169 Abu Ja‘far Harün b. al-Mu'tasim, who took the regnal name of al-Wathiq Bi "llah (He Who
Trusts in God), was the ninth ‘Abbasid caliph. He ruled from 227/842 to 232/847. See the
article by K. V. Zetterstéen, C. E. Bosworth, and E. van Donzel in £7’, s.v. al-Wathik Bi "lah.
Parallel in al-Mas'üdi, Murūj, 5:214 (8 3455).

170 "Such persons as had been previously certified as of good character" translates a single

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 57

of it they sought favor with Ibn Abi Du'ad and the judges. During his time there
was no one to whom entreaty was made except Ibn Abi Du’ad. Al-Wathiq was a
heavy eater with a great capacity for food, abundant in almsgiving, and seeking
the good of the members of his family in every land.!7!

Then came Jafar b. al-Mu'tasim al-Mutawakkil."? He rescinded the doc-
trines to which al-Wathiq had adhered and publicly professed the doctrine of
the Sunna and the Community? He released anyone who had been impris-
oned for not affirming that the Qur'an had been created.!”4 He forbade dispu-
tation, and he commanded all the scholars of hadith whom he had released
to resume transmitting hadith. The people therefore abandoned that doctrine;
those who had been upholding it repudiated it, and disputation and debate
disappeared.!5 Among the things he innovated was the building of impound-
ments!"6 and gated porticos, and so the people in Samarra all built in this way.

Arabic term, al-'udül, literally, “just persons" or “persons of good morals.” Testimony could
be accepted only from persons vouched to have good morals, but such persons also
performed a variety of other court functions. See the article in E72, s.v. ‘Adl.

171 Arabic kathir al-akl wasi‘al-ta‘am (much of eating, capacious of food). One parallel in al-
Mas‘tidi, Murüj, 5:214 (§ 3455) substitutes wasi‘al-‘ata’ (idiomatic for "liberal of giving”) for
the last part of the phrase; another parallel in al-Mas'üdi, Murūj, 4:364 (§ 2832) is slightly
longer: Al-Wathig was kathir al-akl wa Lshurb, wāsi'al-marūf muta'attifan ‘ala ahl baytihi,
mutafaggidan li-ra'tyyatihi (much of eating and drinking, capacious/wide of beneficence,
attached to the members of his family, seeking the good of his subjects).

172 The tenth ‘Abbasid caliph, he was the brother of al-Wāthig and took the regnal name al-
Mutawakkil ‘Ala "llah (He Who Puts His Trust in God). He ruled from 232/847 until his
assassination in 247/861. See the article by H. Kennedy in E12, s.v. al-Mutawakkil ‘Ala "lah.

173 Arabic al-qawl bi-l-sunna wa Ljamá'a: a way of referring to the emerging self-definition
of Sunni orthodoxy, based on the Prophet’s Sunna (as transmitted through hadith), as
opposed to the Mu tazili doctrines based on philosophical premises, and on the consensus
of the community regarding Muhammad's successors (as opposed to Shiī doctrines about
the necessary location of the imamate in Muhammad's closest family members).

174 A favorite doctrine of the Mu'tazili school, used as a litmus test during the Mihna (on
which see the article by M. Hinds in E12, s.v. Mihna).

175 Parallel up to here in al-Mastūdī, Murūj, 5:214 (§ 3456); the remainder of the paragraph has
parallels in al-Mastūdī, Murüj, 5:5—6 (8 2873-2875).

176 Arabic hubūs (pl. of habs). The usual meaning, "prisons," does not fit the context. Meanings
connected with canals and other waterworks can be found in Freytag's Lexicon Arabico-
Latinum and in Kazimirski's Dictionnaire Arabe-Francais. This appears to be a reference to
the canal-building projects undertaken by al-Mutawakkil in connection with the building
of his new administrative center a few miles north of Samarra to be called al-Ja'fariyya;
see al-Ya‘qubi, Buldan, 266, for a description of them.

58 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

He preferred wearing garments of mulham!7 over all other garments, and so
that was his clothing and the clothing of everyone great and small in his res-
idence. The price of mulham rose in his time because of its quality. His days
were good, cheerful, and prosperous. However, he was the first caliph to dis-
play frivolity and to give free rein to levity and joking in his presence, along
with things we have omitted to mention. These things spread among the peo-
ple; they became accustomed to them and followed his lead. Al-Mutawakkil
was not someone who could be described as benevolent or generous. The per-
son with the greatest influence over him and who most enjoyed his favor was
al-Fath b. Khaqàn;'? he was a man whose beneficence was not to be expected,
but from whom no evil needed to be feared. Ubaydallāh b. Yahya b. Khaqan
was his vizier; he was a seeker of safety, possessing manly virtue (murūa) with
regard to himself, but having no beneficence toward anyone, though people
feared no evil from him. He used to be attacked by people's saying that he had
no truth. Ahmad b. Isra'il!7? used to say, “We learned lying from him”

Then came Muhammad al-Muntasir,!®° the son of al-Mutawakkil. His days
were not long enough for his ways to become known, other than the fact that
he was stingy. Ahmad b. al-Khasib was his secretary and vizier; he was a man of
little good, much evil, and intense ignorance.!?!

Then came al-Musta'in, who was Ahmad b. Muhammad b. al-Mu'tasim.!82
He was the first caliph to widen the sleeves of garments, making them three
spans and the like. He made the qalansuwa headgear smaller and shortened

177 Mulham cloth was “a fabric with a silk warp and a woof of some other stuff" (Y. K. Stillman
in EI’, s.v. Libàs).

178 On his career, see the article by Matthew S. Gordon in E13, s.v. Fath b. Khaqan.

179 Secretary and later vizier to al-Mutawakkil’s son al-Mu'tazz (al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:595, 616,
617).

180 Al-Muntasir came to power by engineering his father's assassination before the latter
could change the succession to bypass him. He ruled for only six months in 247/861 and
248/862, before dying of natural causes, although some reports (al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:1496—
1497) suggest that his demise was speeded by poisoning. See the article by C. E. Bosworth
in EI”, s.v. al-Muntasir.

181 Known as Ahmad b. al-Khasib al-Jarjarā?ī. On his career, see the article by D. Sourdel in £7’,
S.V. al-Djardjara’. The noncommittal, if not downright negative assessment of al-Muntasir
given here should be compared with the laudatory description of his character in al-
Mas'üdi, Murūj, 5:50-51 (§ 2992), where al-Muntasir’s excellence is contrasted with the
"little good, much evil, and intense ignorance" of his vizier.

182 Onthereign of this caliph, who was installed by the Turkish commanders in Samarra after
the death of al-Muntasir in 248/862 and who abdicated amidst civil war in 251/866, see the
article by K. V. Zetterstéen and C. E. Bosworth in £1’, s.v. al-Mustaīn.

THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN 59

it.183 No manner of acting of his in which the people followed him is known,
nor any character traits in which people imitated him. He was distracted from
everything else by the attempts to disobey and depose him.

Al-Mu'tazz, who was Abū ‘Abdallah b. al-Mutawakkil, was the first caliph
who rode out with gold ornaments; the caliphs used to ride out with light
ornaments of silver on their belts, swords, saddles, and reins.!8* When al-
Mu'tazz rode out with gold ornaments, the people followed his example. No
particularly praiseworthy or blameworthy character traits of his are known.

Then al-Muhtadī, who was Muhammad b. al-Wathiq, came to power.!85
He hewed to a moderate path in religion.!$6 He presided over the mazalim
courts, signed documents in his own hand, and gave precedence to people of
learning.!5? He used to say: "O Banū Hashim, let me walk in the ways of ‘Umar b.
‘Abd al-‘Aziz, that I may be among you as he was among the Bana Umayya.”!88
He reduced the wardrobe and furniture. People suspected that he followed his
father in professing the doctrine that the Quran was created.!®9

And [then came] al-Mu'tamid, who was Ahmad b. al-Mutawakkil.!90 Before
he had ruled very long, he lost control of his affairs. He was fond of pleasure and

183 The same detail is mentioned by al-Mastūdī, Murūj, 5:90 (8 3102).

184 On the reign of al-Mu'tazz, raised to power in 252/866 and deposed in 255/869, see the
article by C. E. Bosworth in £7°, s.v. al-Mu'tazz Bi 'Ilāh. The detail on his use of gold
ornaments is similarly mentioned in al-Mas'ūdī, Murūj, 5:90 (8 3102).

185 Or “was brought to power"—the Arabic verb can be read as active or passive. He ruled
from 255/869 until his murder in 256/870. See the article by K. V. Zetterstéen and C.
E. Bosworth in £7, s.v. al-Muhtadi.

186 The Ms reading (wa-dhahaba ila l-qad@ fi |-din) “he inclined to judgment in religion"
makes little sense. The parallel in al-Mastūdī, Murüj, 5:98 (8 3130) reads (dhahaba fi amrihi
ilā l-qasd wa-l-din) “he inclined in his affairs toward frugality and religion.” Al-Mas'üdi
follows with a list of ostentatious practices that he abolished. One can explain al-qad@’
as a miscopying of al-qasd. The translation assumes that al-Ya'qübi originally wrote wa-
dhahaba ilā l-qasd fi l-din.

187 Themazālim courts were special courts in which petitions and complaints were heard. Al-
Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:617, also mentions this detail; similarly al-Mas‘udi, Murūj, 5:92 (8 3111).

188 That is, just as ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-Aziz was remembered as having been the most pious of
the Umayyad caliphs, so al-Muhtadi wished to be remembered among the ‘Abbasids (here
referred to as the Banū Hashim). Al-Mas'udi, Murūj, 5:92 (8 3111) also cites these words.

189 Thatis, that he followed his father al-Wathiq in supporting the Mu ‘tazili school of theology
that had been repudiated by al-Mutawakkil. Al-Mas'üdi, Murūj, 5:99-101 (§ 3132-3138),
relates an anecdote that would substantiate this claim.

190 Al-Mu‘tamid ruled nominally from 256/870 to 279/892, but, as al-Ya‘qubi notes, he soon
"lost control of his affairs" and was a mere figurehead, while real power lay in the hands
of others. See the article by H. Kennedy in £7’, s.v. al-Mu'tamid ‘Ala 'llàh.

60 THE BOOK OF THE ADAPTATION OF MEN

devoted himself to enjoyments. His brother Abu Ahmad took charge of affairs,
eventually depriving him of power and imprisoning him. He was the first caliph
who was subdued, confined, and deprived of power.!9!

Then came al-Mu'tadid, who was Ahmad b. Abi Ahmad b. al-Mutawakkil. He
was an astute, resolute man.!92

191 Parallel in al-Mastūdī, Murüj, 5:19 (§ 3193). The brother, Abū Ahmad, took the title of al-
Muwaffaq.

192 Al-Muttadid ruled from 279/892 until his death in 289/902. He was in fact the son of
the brother, Abū Ahmad, who had usurped al-Mu'tamid's authority. Contrast this laconic
description of him as “astute and resolute” with the account of his love of cruelty in al-
Mas'üdi, Murüj 5:138 (§ 3245). See the article by H. Kennedy in £1’, s.v. al-Mu'tadid Bi'llāh.

The Geography

Kitab al-Buldan

MAP 1

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64 THE GEOGRAPHY

In the Name of God, the Compassionate,
the Merciful: Lord, Assist [Us]!

Praise be to God, Who opened His Book (the Qur’an) with (the word) praise
(hamd), and Who made praise to be a recompense for His blessings, accepting
the invocations of the people for whom He has affection. He is the Creator of
the highest heavens and the lowest lands and all that is between them, as well
as what is beneath the ground;! Who had knowledge of what He created before
it existed,” and Who designed whatever He brought forth without a pattern
external to Himself. He has comprehended each thing in His knowledge, and
counted it by number. To Him belong dominion and sovereignty and majesty,
and He has power over everything. May God bless Muhammad the Prophet and
his family.

Ahmad b. Abi Ya'gūb* said: When I was in the prime of youth, possessed of an
adventurous spirit and a sharp mind, I took an interest in reports about coun-
tries and about the distance from one country to another; for I had traveled
since childhood, and my travels had continued uninterruptedly and had taken
me to distant places. So whenever I met someone from those countries, I asked
him about his homeland and its major city;* if he told me about the place of his
home and where he resided, I questioned him about that country concerning
... his birth® ... what its crops and who its inhabitants were, whether Arabs or
non-Arabs ... what its people drank. I even asked about their clothing ... their
religions and beliefs, and who held power [and leadership] there" ... how dis-
tant that country was and what countries were near it and ... for riding camels.
Then I verified everything he told me with someone I could trust, seeking assis-
tance by questioning men of one nationality after another until I had asked an
enormous number of people during the pilgrimage season and at other times,

m

Cf. Quran, 20:6 (and passim).

Cf. Qur’an, 67:14.

Cf. Qur'an, 19:94; 72:28.

That is, al-Ya‘qubi, the author of the work.

a BW N

Arabic misr, which can mean either “major city" or “province.” It has been translated variously
here, according to the meaning that best matches the sense in English. See also below, note 10.

o

Thus in the text: lidatihi ([biļladatihi?). The text is defective in several places in this section.
7 The text and its exact meaning are not clear here. The editor, de Goeje, suggests al-ghalibina
alayhi wa [-mutara"isina fihi, which parallels the phraseology used later in this section.

THE GEOGRAPHY 65

from both eastern and western lands. I wrote down their reports and related
their stories, and I recounted which of the caliphs and commanders had con-
quered each country and had garrisoned each province, and the amount of its
land tax and what is collected on its revenue and property. | I continued writ-
ing down these reports and composing this book over a long period of time. I
attached each report to its proper country, and everything I heard from trust-
worthy inhabitants of the major cities to what I already knew. I realized that
no creature could encompass the entirety of it and that no human being could
reach the end of it. But even a religious law need not be learned completely,
neither is a religion made perfect only by full comprehension. Scholars of the
science of religious jurisprudence sometimes say? “A Summary of the Book of
Such and Such a Jurist”; similarly, authors who compose literary works, such
as books of lexicography, grammar, the Prophet’s military campaigns, histor-
ical reports, or biographies, sometimes say, “A Summary of Such and Such a
Book.” Thus we have composed this book as a summary of information about
the countries; therefore, if someone finds any information about a country we
have mentioned not included in our book, this is because we have not intended
to include everything. The philosopher? once said, “My quest for knowledge is
not a desire to cover every detail, however remote, nor to command every last
point, but rather to know what it would be wrong to ignore and what no intel-
ligent person would contest.” Thus I have reported the names of the provinces,
military districts, and rural districts; what is to be found in each province in the
way of cities, regions, and counties;!° who inhabits it, who holds power there,
and who has assumed authority there among the Arab tribes and non-Arab
nationalities; the distances from country to country and province to province;
which of the leaders of the armies of Islam conquered it and the date of that

That is, they sometimes title a book.

9 Arabic al-hakim (the sage). The quotation, with some variants, is attributed to Aristotle
by Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, "Uyūn al-anb@ fi tabaqat al-atibbā”, s. v. Aristūtālīs; it also appears in
al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:3.

10 A Arabic administrative terminology is not always clear and could be translated in vari-
ous ways. In this sentence and elsewhere, al-Ya‘qubi seems to have his own specialized
vocabulary in this regard; the following English equivalents are used as consistently as
possible in the translation: “province” or “major city" for misr (pl. amsar); “military dis-
trict” for jund (pl. ajnad); “rural district" for kūra (pl. kuwar); "region" for iglīm (pl. agālīm);
"county" for tassüj (pl. tasasij). Also, terms for administrative units varied from one part
of the Islamic world to another in response to the different terminology that the Muslims
inherited from earlier empires. Jund, for example, was used only for the military districts
of Syria-Palestine; tassuj only for administrative divisions in Iraq.

233

66 THE GEOGRAPHY

according to year and time; the amount of its land tax (kharāj); its lowlands
and mountains; its terrain and its waterways; how hot or cold its climate is; and
its water for irrigation and drinking.

Baghdad?!
—— R
TR Tigris) BAGHDAD UNDER THE
Nahr Dil EARLY ABBASIDS
ZUBAYDIYYA "oM. (150 - 300 a.m.)

cemetery $
al-Kazimayn < 4r Ji R y Legend:
m A 3 Wall of Round City of
al-Mansūr 145/762.
= Wall of al-Musta'in 251/865

Gardens

QATRABBUL

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Cemetery
Z
=
= K ig = Tombs
€ KALWADHA 1 Ibn Hanbal
S 2 Abū Hanifa
> 3 Ma'rüf al-Karkhī

St XS
^ YÀ CNN

oft «t Christian monasteries
- 1 Dayr Ram

2 Dayr Samálü

3 Durtā
BĀDURĀYĀ

Other places of iriterest

iq (mills)

OSC

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2 a

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A KALWADHA

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10 Bāb Qatrabbul Sálib b. al-Mansur
11 Bāb al-Shammāsiyya 8 Harīm Tahir
â 9 al-Firdaws
10 Qasr al-Amin
ywib — 11 Qasr Ja'far al-Barmakr ang
Bab Sūg al-Thalātha 12 Oasr al-Mu'tasim 5 al-Rusāfa

MAP 2 Baghdad under the Early Abbasids (150—300 A.H.)

I have begun with Irag because it is the center of the world, the navel of the
earth; and I report about Baghdad because it is the center of Irag and the
greatest city, one which has no peer in the east or the west of the earth in
size, importance, prosperity, abundance of waters, and salubrious climate, and
because it is inhabited by all varieties of mankind and urban and rural folk who
234 haveimmigrated to it from all countries | near and far. People from the remotest

11 ALYa'qübi's description of the ‘Abbasid capital and its relation to various parallel texts
have been studied in detail in Guy Le Strange, Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate, and
Jacob Lassner, The Topography of Baghdad in the Early Middle Ages.

BAGHDAD 67

parts of the world have preferred it to their homelands; people from every
country have residential quarters there and places for trade and for business.
What can be found together in no other city in the world comes together there.
The two great rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, flow along its borders, so
that goods and provisions come to it by land and by water with such ease that
every object of trade which can be exported from the east or the west, whether
from Islamic or non-Islamic lands, makes its way there. So many goods are
imported to it from India, Sind, China, Tibet, the country of the Turks, Daylam,
the country of the Khazars, Ethiopia, and other countries that there may be
more of a commodity there than in the country from which it was exported.
Indeed, so much can be found and obtained there that it is as if earth’s bounties
had been conveyed there, the world’s riches amassed there, and the blessings
of the universe perfected there.

Moreover, Baghdad is the city of the Banū Hashim!?— their capital and the
seat of their power—where no one had preceded them and no kings other than
they had resided. In fact, my ancestors were residents there, and one of them
was its governor. Its name is famous, and its reputation is renowned. It is the
center of the world because, according to what the geographers" universally
say and what has been included about it in the books of the ancient scholars,
itisin the fourth clime, which is the central clime, where the weather balances
out over the times and seasons.!5 Thus it is extremely hot at the height of
summer and extremely cold in winter, but it is moderate during the seasons
of autumn and spring. In the transition from autumn to winter, the change in
temperature is not abrupt, and neither is the change during the transition from
spring to summer. Each season moves in this way from one kind of weather to

12 That is, the ‘Abbasids, so called because they traced their ancestry to the Prophet's uncle,
al-‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib b. Hashim.

13 This statement suggests that it should be possible to identify which of al-Ya'qübi's ances-
tors were among these early residents (a/-gā'imīna biha) of Baghdad and in charge of the
city (tawalla amrahā); however, no such individuals can be definitely identified. It is pos-
sible that Wadih, mawla of the caliph al-Mansur, mentioned below in the Geography by
al-Ya‘qubi (ed. Leiden, 247) as one of the supervisors in the construction of Baghdad, was
his ancestor (see pp. 18—21 of the Introduction to this volume).

14 Arabic hussab: literally, "calculators" (of latitude).

15 AlYatgūbī is alluding to the classical theory that divided the world by latitude into seven
climes (iglim), the fourth being the one where the features of the other six are in equi-
librium. On the concept and its use by Muslim geographers and astronomers, see André
Miquel, Za géographie humaine du monde musulman.

235

68 THE GEOGRAPHY

another, from one time to another. The weather thus becomes balanced, the
soil is good, the water is sweet, the trees thrive, the fruits are excellent, the seed-
crops flourish, the excellent things (of the earth) are plentiful, | and tapped
(water)! is near its source. Because of the equitable climate, the fertility of the
soil, and the sweetness of the water, the character of the people is good. Their
faces shine and their minds are opened, so that they surpass all other people in
learning, understanding, refinement, perception, common sense, commerce,
crafts, and business. They are clever in every subject of discussion, competent
in every occupation, skillful at every craft. No scholar is more learned than their
scholars; and no one is more versed in hadith than their traditionists, better at
disputation than their theologians, more knowledgeable of Arabic than their
grammarians, more correct than their Quran reciters, more adroit than their
physicians, more skillful than their singers, more talented than their artisans,
better calligraphers than their scribes, clearer than their logicians, more pious
than their worshippers, more godfearing than their ascetics, more learned in
jurisprudence than their judges, more eloquent than their preachers, more
artful than their poets—or more roguish than their profligates!

Baghdad was nota city in ancient times—I mean in the days of the Kisras!” and
the Persians—it was only a village in the rural district of Bādūrayā.!$ The capital
which the rulers preferred from among the cities of Iraq was al-Mada’in,!®
which is about seven farsakhs?? from Baghdad and is where the palace (wan) of
Kisra Anushirwan is located. There was nothing in Baghdad at that time except
a monastery at the place where the Sarat canal flows into the Tigris—the place

16 Arabic mustanbat. According to Lane, 8:2759, this signifies “water that comes forth from a
well when it is first dug"; al-Ya‘qubi may mean that wells do not have to be dug deep nor
water carried far from its source.

17 Arabic al-Akāsira, pl. of Kisrā. This was originally the proper name of one Persian king
(Khusraw), but became the generic Arabic term for the rulers of Sasanian Iran.

18 An agricultural area southwest of Baghdad which provided much of the city’s food supply.
See the article by M. Streck in EI, s.v. Bādūrayā; and Peter Christensen, The Decline of
Iranshahr, 96, 102.

19 Ctesiphon.

20 The farsakh (Persian farsang) was a unit of distance. Originally it was the distance that
could be covered on foot in a mile; later it was fixed at 3 Arab miles (mil), equivalent to
5.985 km (3.719 English miles); see the article by W. Hinz, in £1’, s.v. Farsakh, and idem.,
Islamische Masse und Gewichte, 62—63.

BAGHDAD 69

is called Qarn al-Sarat.?! It is the monastery which is named the Old Monastery
(al-Dayr al-‘Atiq) and is still standing in the same place today; the Catholicos,
leader of the Nestorian Christians, resides there.

There was also no Baghdad in the days of the Arabs when Islam came, for
the Arabs founded Basra and Kufa. Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas al-Zuhrī founded Kufa
in the year 17,? while he was governor (‘amil) for ‘Umar b. al-Khattab. ‘Utba
b. Ghazwan al-Mazini, of the tribe of Mazin Qays, founded Basra in the year
17, while he was governor for ‘Umar b. al-Khattab. The Arabs staked out their
lots in these two cities, although all their notables, dignitaries, and prosperous
merchants have now moved to Baghdad.

The Umayyads did not reside in Iraq, because they were resident in Syria.
Mu‘awiya b. Abi Sufyan was governor of Syria for twenty years | under ‘Umar b.
al-Khattab and ‘Uthman b. 'Affan. He and his family with him took up residence
in the city of Damascus. When he came to power and assumed sovereignty,
he established his residence and his court in Damascus, where his power and
supporters and partisans were. The Umayyad kings after Mu‘awiya resided
there because they had been brought up there, were acquainted with no other
places, and only its people were favorably disposed to them.

When the caliphate passed to the clan of the uncle of the Prophet—God’s
blessing be upon him and his family—among the descendants of al-‘Abbas b.
‘Abd al-Muttalib, they recognized, thanks to the excellence of their discretion,
the soundness of their intelligence, and the perfection of their judgment, the
merit of Iraq: its grandeur, its spaciousness, and its centrality in the world.
It is not like Syria with its pestilential climate, cramped towns, barren soil,
continuous epidemics of plague, and uncouth people. Neither is it like Egypt
with its tainted air and frequent outbreaks of pestilence, owing to its location
between a damp and putrid river full of vile vapors that give rise to maladies
and spoil food, and arid, barren mountains where, owing to their dryness,
salinity, and sterility, nothing green can grow and no spring of water can gush
up. Nor is it like Ifriqiya, distant from the peninsula of Islam and from the sacred
House of God,?3 with coarse, often hostile, people; nor like Armenia, remote,
bitterly cold, infertile, and surrounded by enemies; nor like the harsh, tough,
icy, rural districts of al-Jabal,?* home of the hard-hearted Kurds; nor like the

21 The Sarat canal branched off the Īsā canal west of Baghdad near the town of al-Muhawwal
and ran east and south to the Tigris just below the Basra Gate; see Le Strange, Lands, 66—
67.

22 17A.H. = January 23, 638 - January 12, 639.

23 ‘That is, the Arabian Peninsula and the Kaba in Mecca.

24 Al-Jabal (the Mountain; often in the plural, al-Jibal, the Mountains), was the province

236

237

70 THE GEOGRAPHY

land of Khurasan far to the east, surrounded on all sides by rabid enemies and
battle-hungry warriors; nor like the Hijaz, which is so lacking in the things one
needs and so limited in means of livelihood that its people must get sustenance
from elsewhere, as God—may He be glorified and exalted—has informed us in
His Book in the words of Abraham His friend—peace be upon him: “Our Lord,
I have made some of my seed to dwell in a valley where is no sown land.”?5 |
And it is not like Tibet, which has such wretched climate and food that the
complexion of its people has become altered, their bodies shriveled, and their
hair frizzed.

Realizing that Iraq is the most excellent of countries, the ‘Abbasids chose to
establish their residence there. The Commander of the Faithful Abū l-Abbas,
who was ‘Abdallah b. Muhammad b. Alī b. ‘Abdallah b. al-Abbas b. ‘Abd al-
Muttalib,” resided at Kufa at first; then he moved to al-Anbar and built a city
on the banks of the Euphrates and named it al-Hāshimiyya.?7 Abu l-Abbas—
may God be pleased with him— died before the city was completed.

When Abi Ja'far al-Mansür (who was also named ‘Abdallah b. Muhammad
b. ‘Ali b. ‘Abdallah b. al-‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib) became caliph, he built a city
between Kufa and al-Hira that he named al-Hashimiyya. He stayed there for a
time, until he decided to dispatch his son Muhammad al-Mahdi to fight the
Slavs in the year 140.7? Then he went to Baghdad and stopped there and asked,
“What is the name of this place?" Told that it was Baghdad, he said: “By God, this
is the city that my father Muhammad b. ‘Ali foretold to me that I would build
and that would be where I and my descendants after me would reside. The kings
in the time of the Jahiliyya and Islam neglected it, so that God's plan and decree
could be implemented by me, the reports be proven correct, and the signs and
prophecies be made clear. In any case, itis an island between the Tigris and the

stretching from the mountains that rise from the northeast of Iraq across northern Iran
to Rayy on the east and Isfahan on the southeast. See the article by L. Lockhart in £1?, s.v.
Djibal; Le Strange, Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 185 ff.

25 Quran, 14:37.

26 Usually known as al-Saffah; he was proclaimed caliph in Kufa on 12 Rabi‘ 11 132 (Novem-
ber 28, 749).

27 _Inhonor of Hashim, the father of ‘Abd al-Muttalib, the common ancestor of the ‘Abbasids
and the Prophet Muhammad.

28 140A.H. = May 25, 757 — May 14, 758. This bears no resemblance to other Arabic accounts
of the founding of Baghdad (e.g., al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:271-272), which attribute al-Mansūr's
desire to move to a new capital to the revolt of the Rawandiyya in al-Hashimiyya. There is
also no corroboration of any raid by al-Mahdi against "the Slavs" in this year.

BAGHDAD 71

Euphrates, the Tigris to its east and the Euphrates to its west, a thoroughfare for
the world. Everything that comes on the Tigris from Wasit, Basra, al-Ubulla, al-
Ahwaz, Fars, Oman, al-Yamama, al-Bahrayn, and places adjacent to them can
come upstream to Baghdad and anchor there; similarly, whatever comes from
Mosul, Diyar Rabra, Azerbaijan, and Armenia and is carried on boats on the
Tigris, or whatever comes from Diyar Mudar, al-Raqqa, Syria, the districts on
the (Byzantine) frontier, Egypt, and the Maghrib and is carried on boats in the
Euphrates can be unloaded and stored here. It will be an emporium | for the
people of al-Jabal, Isfahan, and the districts of Khurasan. Praise be to God who
has reserved it for me and caused all those who preceded me to neglect it. By
God, I will build it and dwell there to the end of my life, as will my descendants
after me. It shall be the most prosperous city on earth. Then I will build four
cities after it, and none of them shall ever be laid waste." He did build them:
he built al-Rafiqa, although he did not give it its name, and he built Malatya,
al-Massisa, and al-Mansüra in Sind.?9

Then he directed that engineers and experts in construction, surveying, and
the division of plots be assembled, until he had laid out his city, known as the
City of Abu Ja‘far. He assembled architects, workmen, carpenters, blacksmiths,
and excavators, and when enough of them had gathered, he assigned them
wages and provisions. He wrote to every country to send whoever was there
who understood anything about construction, and 100,000 skilled workers and
craftsmen of various kinds came. A number of authorities have reported that
Abu Ja‘far al-Mansur did not commence construction until he had 100,000
skilled workers and laborers. He marked out the city in the month of Rabr
1141.2 He made it a round city, and apart from it no other round city is known

29 The most likely interpretation of this sentence is that al-Rafiqa had been conceived (but
not actually built) by al-Saffah, who gave it its name. Al-Ya‘qubi himself says elsewhere
(Ta'rikh, 2:430, 445) that al-Rāfiga, a suburb of al-Raqqa, was founded by Abi l-'Abbas al-
Saffah, but al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3:276 attributes it to al-Mansur. Cf. Wiet, Ya'ķūbī: Les Pays,
10, n. 4. In any case, it is fanciful to say that al-Mansür founded these cities. Al-Mansüra,
because of its name, was often misidentified as one of his constructions (see the article
by Y. Friedmann in £75, s.v. al-Mansüra). He did carry out some reconstruction at Malatya
(Melitene) and al-Massisa (Mopsuestia) as part of his program to fortify the frontier with
Byzantium; see Guy Le Strange, Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 120, 131.

go July 12 - August u, 758. This can only refer to a preliminary layout of the site; by most
accounts construction did not begin until 145/762; see the next note.

238

239

72 THE GEOGRAPHY

in all the regions of the world. The foundations of the city were laid at a time
chosen by the astronomers Nawbakht and Māshārallāh b. Sāriya.3'

Before the foundations were laid, great bricks were made. Each complete
square brick was one dhirā'*? by one dhira‘ and weighed two hundred ratls;33
the half-bricks were one dhira‘ long and half a dhira‘ wide and weighed one
hundred ratís. Wells were dug for water, and the canal was made which comes
from the Karkhaya canal, which is the canal which comes from the Euphrates.
The canal was completed and made to run into the city to provide water for
drinking, brick-making, and moistening clay.

He gave the city four gates: one he named Bab al-Küfa, one he named Bab
al-Basra, one he named Bab Khurasan, and one he named Bab al-Sham. Each
gate was distant from the next by five thousand dhira's, calculated according
to the “black dhira‘’3* as measured from the outer bank of the moat. Each gate
had a large, splendid, double door made of iron, neither half of which could be
closed | or opened except by a group of men. A horseman carrying a banner ora
lancer bearing a long lance could enter without lowering the banner or tipping
the lance. The enclosure wall was made of great bricks, the like of which had
never been seen before, of the size we have described, and of clay. He made the
width of the base of the enclosure wall go black dhirā's, decreasing as the wall

31 Nawbakht (a Persian name meaning “New Fortune") was the first of a famous family of
astrologers and theologians in the early ‘Abbasid period; Nawbakht supposedly gained
great influence with the future caliph al-Mansur by predicting his rise to power. See the
article by L. Massignon in £1’, s.v. Nawbakht. Mashaallah b. Sāriya (or Athari) al-Basri,
probably of Persian Jewish ancestry, was a celebrated astronomer and author of scientific
treatises. See the article by J. Samsó in E12, s.v. Mashaà Allah b. Athari or b. Sariya. The
text of the horoscope as recorded by al-Bīrūnī, al-Athar al-bāgiya, 270-271, yields the
date 3 Jumada 1 145/30 July 762 for the foundation of the city. Two other astrologers not
mentioned here, ‘Umar al-Tabarī and Muhammad al-Fazārī, also participated in casting
the horoscope; al-Ya'qübi mentions them below (ed. Leiden, 241).

32 Thedhirá'(cubitorell) in the Abbasid period could be measured in several different ways,
ranging from a "legal" cubit of approximately 54cm to a "great" cubit of 66 cm or more; see
W. Hinz, Islamische Masse und Gewichte, 54—64.

33 Theratlwasa unit of weight that varied according to the commodity being measured. The
official ratl of Baghdad has been estimated as equivalent to approximately 401.7 g. See the
article by W. Hinz in £7’, s.v. Makayil.

34 The length of the “black” cubit has been estimated at 54.04 cm (see the article by W. Hinz
in Er, s.v. Dhira‘); Le Strange, Baghdad, 18, calculated 5000 black cubits to be equivalent
to 2,500 yards (2,285 m); Wiet, 12 n. 7 suggests 2,466 m (at .49326 m per cubit).

BAGHDAD 73

rose to measure 25 dhirā* at the top.?5 Its height was 60 dhirā's, including the
battlements. Around the wall was a large, strong rampart ( fasil). Between the
(face of the) enclosure wall and the (face of the) rampart was a space of 100
black dhirā's. The rampart had great towers and round battlements. Beyond
the rampart and surrounding it was a high embankment, perfectly constructed
and sturdy, made of baked bricks and quicklime (sārūj). The moat next to the
embankment was filled with water from a channel which branched off the
Karkhaya canal. Beyond the moat were the grand avenues.

He gave the four gates of the city great vestibules, each of them vaulted
(azaj), 80 dhirā's long, and having a ceiling of baked brick and gypsum (iss),
so that when he entered one of the vestibules from the rampart, he reached
a courtyard (rahba) paved with stone, and then (another) vestibule on the
great enclosure wall, which had large, splendid, double doors made of iron,
neither half of which could be opened or closed except by a group of men.
All four gates were like that. After entering one of the vestibules on the great
enclosure wall, he passed through a courtyard to an arcade (taqat) with a ceiling
of baked brick and gypsum in which were Greek skylights, through which
sunlight could penetrate but rain could not. The residences of the pages?6
were there. Each of the four gates had an arcade, and each of the city gates
on the great enclosure wall had a large, domed room with a gilded ceiling,
around which were reception rooms and benches where one could sit and
look out on everything that went on. One ascended to these domed rooms via
arched (stairways), some of which were constructed with gypsum and baked
brick and some with large mud bricks. The arches were built with some higher
than others, and the interiors of these were for the horseguards (rabita) and
bodyguards. On the exterior, | a ramp accessible to riding animals went up
to the domes over the gates; there were gates on the ramp which could be
locked. Upon exiting from the arcade, one reached a courtyard and then a
large vaulted vestibule made of baked brick and plaster with an iron double
door;?? one went out via the door to the grand courtyard. All four arcades
were constructed according to the same plan. In the middle of the courtyard

35 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:449.

36 Arabic ghilmān (pl. of ghulam) has the basic meaning of “young man, youth, or boy” but
can also mean “slave.” Its precise meaning in this context is ambiguous. See the article by
D. Sourdel in Er’, s.v. Ghulam.

37 | According to Lassner, Topography, 292 n. 25, this should be translated as “two doors" (in
contrast to the double door of the main portal), but the context seems to justify using
"double door" in this case also.

240

241

74 THE GEOGRAPHY

was the palace—its gate was named the Golden Gate—and next to the palace
was the congregational mosque. There were no other buildings or houses or
residences around the palace for anyone, except a structure on the side of
Bab al-Sham for the bodyguard and a large gallery on columns constructed
of baked brick and gypsum; the chief of the security forces used to be sta-
tioned in one and the head of the bodyguard in the other—today it is used
for performing the prayer. Arranged around the perimeter of the courtyard
were the residences of al-Mansur's young children and the household slaves
in attendance, the treasury, the armory, the chancery, the finance ministry, the
ministry of the privy seal, the ministry of the army, the ministry of supplies,
the ministry of court servants, the public kitchen, and the ministry of stipends
(nafaqat).

From one arcade to another there were streets and lanes? known by the
names of (the caliph's) military officers and clients or the residents of each
street. Between Bab al-Basra and Bab al-Kūfa were Police Street (Sikkat al-
Shurat); al-Haytham Street; Dungeon Street (Sikkat al-Mutbaq), on which lay
the large prison named the Mutbaq, solidly built with sturdy walls; Women's
Street (Sikkat al-Nisa’); Sarjis Street; al-Husayn Street; ‘Atiyya Street, Mujashi‘
Street; al-Abbas Street; Ghazwān Street; Abū Hanifa Street; and Narrow Street
(al-Sikka al-Dayyiqa).

Between Bab al-Basra and Bab Khurasan were Guardsmen Street (Sikkat al-
Haras), al-Nu'aymiyya Street, Sulayman Street, al-Rabī' Street, Muhalhil Street,
Shaykh b. ‘Amira Street, al-Marwarrüdhiyya Street, Wadih Street, Watercarriers
Street (Sikkat al-Saqqa'in), Ibn Burayha b. ‘Isa b. al-Mansur Street, Abū Ahmad
Street, | and Narrow Lane (al-Darb al-Dayyiq).

Between Bab al-Küfa and Bab al-Sham were al-‘Akki Street, Abt Qurra Street,
"Abdūya Street, al-Samayda' Street, al-‘Ala Street, Nafi‘ Street, Aslam Street, and
Manara Street.

From Bab al-Shàm to Bab Khurasan were Muezzins’ Street (Sikkat al-
Mu'adhdhinin), Dārim Street, Isrā'īl Street, a street now known as al-Oawārīrī
(I have forgotten for whom it was named), al-Hakam b. Yusuf Street, Sama'a
Street, Sa'id the Client of Abū Ja‘far Street, a street known today as al-Ziyadi (I
have forgotten for whom it was named), and Ghazwan Street.

38 Arabic al-sikak wa l-durüb: Here, sikka (a relatively wide, straight path) will be translated
as "street"; darb (usually a relatively narrow and irregular path running through an urban
quarter, often with a gate at each end) will be translated as either "lane" or “neighborhood,”
depending on the context. Both will be distinguished from the shāri* (a major road or
avenue).

BAGHDAD 75

These streets between one arcade and another were inside the city and
within the enclosure wall. On each of these streets resided the (caliph’s) high-
ranking military officers who were trustworthy enough to reside with him, his
high-ranking clients, and those people whom he needed to handle important
matters. There were stout gates at both ends of every street. None of the streets
connected with the wall of the courtyard where the caliphal palace was located;
the wall was around the courtyard and the streets were concentric to it.

The men who laid out the city were ‘Abdallah b. Muhriz, al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf,?9
‘Imran b. al-Waddah, and Shihab b. Kathiy, in concert with Nawbakht, Ibrahim
b. Muhammad al-Fazari,^? and al-Tabarī,*! the astronomers who made com-
putations.^? (Al-Mansūr) divided the areas outside the wall into four quarters
and put one of the engineers in charge of each of the quarters. He assigned
the head of each quarter a certain amount of land to be distributed among the
holders of estates, as well as an amount of land to construct markets for each
suburb.

He entrusted all the quarter from Bab al-Küfa to Bab al-Basra and Bab al-
Muhawwal and Karkh and what adjoined them to al-Musayyab b. Zuhayr, al-
Rabr the (caliph’s) client, and ‘Imran b. al-Waddah the engineer. He entrusted
the quarter from Bab al-Küfa to Bab al-Sham and the avenue on the road to
al-Anbar as far as the suburb | of Harb b. ‘Abdallah to Sulayman b. Mujalid,
Wadih the (caliph’s) client, and ‘Abdallah b. Muhriz the engineer. He entrusted
the quarter from Bab al-Sham to the suburb of Harb and its environs and the
avenue of Bab al-Sham and what was adjacent to it as far as the furthest bridge
over the Tigris to Harb b. ‘Abdallah, Ghazwan the (caliph’s) client, and al-Hajjaj
b. Yüsuf?? the engineer. He entrusted from Bab Khurasan to the Tigris bridge,

39 X According to Wiet, 17, n. 3, this is a copyist's error and should be read Artāt rather than
Yüsuf (cf. al-Tabari, 3:276). However, the text consistently gives the name as Yusuf.

40 Sic. Wiet, 17, n. 4, apud Nallino, suggests reading Ibrahim b. Habib, but the astrologer in
question was most likely his son, Muhammad b. Ibrahim b. Habib al-Fazari. See David
Pingree, "The Fragments of the Works of al-Fazārī” JNES 29 (1970), 103-123.

41 Abū Hafs Umar b. Farrukhān al-Tabari, a protégé of the Barmakids and translator of
works from Pahlavi into Arabic. See Ullmann, Natur- und Geheimwissenschaften, 506—507;
David Pingree, “Umar ibn al-Farrukhan al-Tabari in Dictionary of Scientific Biography,
xiii, 538-539; idem, "The Liber Universus of ‘Umar ibn al-Farrukhan al-Tabarī” Journal for
the History of Arab Science 1 (1977), 8-12.

42 Arabical-munajjimin ashab al-hisāb, literally “astronomers/astrologers masters of compu-
tation"—both astronomers and astrologers were referred to as munajjim.

43 See note 39 above.

242

243

76 THE GEOGRAPHY

stretching along the avenue by the Tigris to Baghayyin and Bab Qutrubbul,^^
to Hisham b. ‘Amr al-Taghlibi, ‘Umara b. Hamza, and Shihab b. Kathir the
engineer.

He assigned the superintendent of each quarter what should go to each
dignitary and his comrades and what to allot for stores and markets in each
suburb. He ordered them to make the stores spacious, so that there should be
in each suburb a general market uniting the various trades; to make in each
suburb streets and lanes (both thoroughfares and cul-de-sacs) in proportion to
the number of its houses; and to name each alley after an official residing in it,
a prominent man who resided there, or the nationality of the people who lived
there. He specified to them that they should make the width of the avenues
50 black dhirā's and the alleys 16 dhirās. In every suburb, market, and alley,
they were to build enough mosques and baths for the people in each district
or neighborhood. He ordered them all to take from the estates of the military
generals and officers a specified amount of land for merchants to build on and
reside and for tradesmen and visitors.

The first of his relatives to whom he granted an estate outside the city
was ‘Abd al-Wahhāb b. Ibrahim b. Muhammad b. ‘Ali b. ‘Abdallah b. al-‘Abbas;
it was opposite Bab al-Küfa, on the lower Sarat (canal), which comes from
the Euphrates. His suburb became known as ‘Abd al-Wahhab's Little Market
(Suwayqat 'Abd al-Wahhab). His palace there has now fallen into ruin, and I
have heard that the Little Market has also fallen into ruin.

He granted as an estate to al-‘Abbas b. Muhammad b. "Alī b. ‘Abdallah b. al-
‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib | the island between the two Sarat (canals). Al--Abbas
made it into a plantation and farm, the famous and well-known al-‘Abbasiyya,
which yields harvests all year round, both summer and winter. After making
the island into a plantation, al-‘Abbas obtained another estate for himself on
the east bank. The two branches of the Sarat join at the end of al-‘Abbasiyya.
The great mill known as the Patrician's Mill (Raha I-Batriq) was there; it had
100 millstones and yielded income of 100 million dirhams a year. A dignitary
(bitriq, patrikios) who had come to (al-Mansur) from the Byzantine emperor
designed it, and it was named for him.

He granted an estate to the Sharawis, who were clients of Muhammad b. ‘Ali
b. ‘Abdallah b. al-‘Abbas, this side of Abd al-Wahhab's Little Market, adjacent to
Bab al-Kūfa. They were its gatekeepers, and their chief was Hasan al-Sharawī.

44 Le Strange, Wiet, and others vocalize this name as Qatrabbul; however, Ibn al-Athir, Lubab,
3:45, explicitly gives it as Qutrubbul.

BAGHDAD 77

He granted an estate to al-Muhajir b. ‘Amr, head of the ministry of charities
(dīwān al-sadaqat), in the square which faced Bab al-Kūfa, where the ministry
of charities was located. Opposite it was the estate of Yasin, chief of the courier
service (al-naja'ib) and the couriers' hostel. Outside the couriers' hostel was the
clients' stable.

He granted an estate to al-Musayyab b. Zuhayr al-Dabbi, chief of the police
(shurta), to the right of Bab al-Kufa as one enters the city, in the direction of Bab
al-Basra. Al-Musayyab's mansion and the Mosque of al-Musayyab, with the tall
minaret, were there.

He granted an estate to Azhar b. Zuhayr, al-Musayyab's brother, behind al-
Musayyab’s estate, on the qibla side by the Sarat. Azhar's house and Azhar's
garden are still there at the present time. The estate of Abū l-Anbar, al-Mansür's
client, was adjacent to the estate of al-Musayyab and his family on the qibla
side.

The estate of the Companions* was on the Sarat; they were from all the Arab
tribes, such as Quraysh, the Ansār*5 Rabi‘a, Mudar, and Yemen.*7 The houses
of 'Ayyash al-Mantuf and others were there.

Then came the estate of Yaqtin b. Musa, one of the dynasty's major support-
ers and a leader of its propaganda mission (da‘wa). After that, you cross the
Grand Sarat formed by the confluence of the two Sarats, upper and lower. There
isan arched bridge across it built of baked bricks and gypsum, | sturdy and mas-
sive, which is called the Old Bridge (al-Qantara al-‘Atiqa) because it was the first
thing that he built, and he ordered that it should be sturdily constructed. After
the bridge, you turn right—toward the gibla—toward the estate of Ishaq b. ‘Isa
b. 'Ali and his compounds and mansions spread along the Grand Sarat on the
east bank. The great highway runs between the mansions and the Sarat. From
the estate of ‘Isa b. Alī, (you go) to the estate of Abūl-Sarī al-Sha'mi, al-Mansür's
client, and then the arcade with the gate known as Bab al-Muhawwal. From
there, you reach the suburb of Humayd b. Qahtaba al-Tā'ī, which extends along
the upper Sarat. The mansion of Humayd, his comrades, and some members
of the family of Qahtaba b. Shabib was there. It was adjacent to the estate of
the household attendants,*3 which was known as the Mansion of the Romans
(Dar al-Rümiyyin) and opened onto the Karkhaya canal. Then you return to the

45 Arabic al-sahaba: the descendants of the Companions of the Prophet, as by this date no
one who had known the Prophet Muhammad was still alive.

46 Ansār (Helpers) refers mainly to the two tribes of Medina, the Aws and the Khazraj.

47 “and Yemen” has been added in the margin of the Ms.

48 .Text:qati'at al-farrashin.

244

245

78 THE GEOGRAPHY

main avenue—Bab al-Muhawwal Avenue, where there is a large market with
all sorts of commodities. It is adjacent to the Old Pool (al-Hawd al-‘Atiq), where
the houses of the Persians, companions of the shah, were. The route continues
toward the place known as the Kunasa, where there are places for people to tie
up their mounts and where dealers in riding animals are located. Then comes
the old cemetery known as the Kunāsa, extending to the canal of ‘Isa b. Alī,
which draws from the Euphrates, and the tanners' quarter. Across from the
Romans' (Rümiyya) estate, on the Karkhaya canal, which is spanned by the
bridge known as the Romans' (Bridge), is the mansion of Ka'yüba the chief
gardener, who planted the date palms in Baghdad. Then there are continuous
gardens that Ka'yüba al-Basri planted as far as the place known as Baratha.

Returning to the Old Bridge: before you cross the bridge, to the east lies the
suburb of Abu l-Ward Kawthar b. al-Yaman, custodian of the treasury. There
is a market with all sorts of goods there, extending to Bab al-Karkh, known
as Abu I-Ward's Little Market. Behind the estate of Abū l-Ward Kawthar b. al-
Yaman is the estate of Habib b. Raghban al-Himsi. The mosque of Ibn Raghban
is there, | as is the mosque of the Anbaris, who were secretaries in the ministry
of the land tax. Before you cross the Old Bridge, coming from Bab al-Küfa on
the Grand Avenue, is the estate of Sulaym, client of the Commander of the
Faithful and chief of the ministry of the land tax; then the estate of Ayyüb b.
‘Isa al-Sharawi; then the estate of Rabawa al-Kirmani and his comrades. Then
you arrive at the city gate known as Bab al-Basra, which overlooks the Sarat
and the Tigris. Opposite it is the New Bridge (al-Qantara al-Jadida), so-called
because it was the last of the bridges to be built. There is a large market on
it with all sorts of shops extending adjacent to each other. Then comes the
suburb of Waddah, the client of the Commander of the Faithful, known as the
compound of Waddah the chief of the armory. There are markets there, and
most of those occupying them at the present time are booksellers; it has over a
hundred bookshops.

Next you come to the estate of ‘Amr b. Sim'an al-Harrani; the Harràni arcade
is there. Then comes al-Shargiyya. It was named al-Shargiyya (Eastern) because
it was intended as a city for al-Mahdi before (al-Mansür) decided that al-
Mahdīs residence should be on the east bank of the Tigris, and so it was called
al-Shargiyya. The Great Mosque is there, where people used to congregate for
the Friday prayer, and there was a pulpit in it. It was the mosque where the
judge (gādī) of al-Shargiyya used to hold court. Then the pulpit was removed
from it.

Turning from al-Shargiyya, you pass to the estate of Ja'far b. al-Mansur on the
bank of the Tigris. The house of ‘Isa b. Ja‘far is there, and nearby is the house of
Ja'far b. Ja'far b. al-Mansur. Then you leave the four roads we have mentioned

BAGHDAD 79

for the avenue of Bab al-Karkh. First, at the Gate of the Slave Merchants,?? there
is the estate of Suwayd, al-Mansūr's client. Suwayd Square is behind the slave
market; next, shops extend along both sides of the avenue. You bear right from
Bab al-Karkh to the estate of al-Rabr, client of the Commander of the Faithful,
in which there are cloth merchants from Khurasan who sell various types of
material imported from Khurasan and nothing else. | There is a canal there that
branches off from the Karkhaya canal, along which are the residences of the
merchants. It is called the Poultry Canal (Nahr al-Dajaj) because chickens used
to be sold there at that time. Behind al-Rabr's estate are the residences of the
merchants and a variety of people from every country. Each lane is known by
(the ethnic name of) its inhabitants, and each street by (the name of) someone
who resided on it.

Karkh is the great market that extends in length from Waddah’s Compound
to the Tuesday Market (Suq al-Thulatha’), a distance of two farsakhs, and in
width from al-Rabi’s estate to the Tigris, a distance of one farsakh. There are
particular streets for every type of merchant and trade. There are rows of
shops and lots in these streets; one group of people and type of commerce
never mixes with another, no type of goods is sold with another, and the
practitioners of one occupation do not mix with other sorts of artisans. Each
market is separate, and all the people are engaged only in their particular type
of commerce. The people of each occupation are segregated from those of
other groups.

Between these suburbs that we have mentioned and the estates that we have
described were the residences of various people—Arabs, soldiers, dihqans,5°
merchants, and other sorts of people for whom the lanes and streets were
named. This was one quarter of Baghdad, and it was the large quarter. It was
administered by al-Musayyab b. Zuhayr, al-Rabr the client of the Commander
of the Faithful, and ‘Imran b. al-Waddah the engineer. There was no quarter in
Baghdad larger or grander than it.

49 Bab al-Nakhkhasin. This could also mean Gate of the Cattle Merchants, but according to
Le Strange, Baghdad, 68, it was the slave market.

50 Dihqan, pl. dahaqin (Middle Persian dēhkān or dahigān, pl. dēhkānān): “villager, landlord,
a member of the local class of Persian landlords in Iraq who administered subdistricts.’
See the articles by Ann K. S. Lambton in £7’, s.v. Dihkan, and by Jürgen Paul in E13, s.v.
Dihgān; Morony, Iraq after the Muslim Conquest, 529.

246

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80 THE GEOGRAPHY

From Bāb al-Kūfa to Bab al-Sham was the suburb of Sulayman b. Mujalid—
he was the one who administered this quarter, and it was named after him. In it
were: the estate of Wadih; then the estate of ‘Amir b. Isma‘ll al-Musli; then the
suburb of al-Hasan b. Qahtaba (his houses and those of his family fronted onto
what was known as al-Hasan's Lane); then the suburb of the Khwarazmians, the
companions of al-Harith b. Ruqad al-Khwarazmi, and the estate of al-Harith
was on that lane; then the estate of... the equerry?! client of the Commander
of the Faithful, which was the mansion that later belonged to Ishaq b ‘Isa b.
‘Ali al-Hashimi and then was bought by a secretary of Muhammad b. ‘Abdallah
b. Tahir named Tahir b. | al-Harith; then the suburb of al-Khalil b. Hashim al-
Bāwardī; then the suburb of al-Khattāb b. Nāfi' al-Tahawi; then the estate of
Hashim b. Ma‘raf, which is in Cages Lane (Darb al-Agfās); and then the estate
of al-Hasan b. Ja‘farat, which is also in Cages Lane and adjacent to Fullers' Lane
(Darb al-Qassarin).

From the Anbar Road, the first estate one comes to is the estate of Wadih,>?
client of the Commander of the Faithful, and his children; then Ayyüb b. al-
Mughira al-Fazārī Lane [...]*3 in Kufa, so the lane was known as Kufans' Lane
(Darb al-Küfiyyin). Then comes the estate of Salama b. Sam'an al-Bukhari and
his comrades—the Bukharans' Mosque and the Green Minaret are in it. Then
comes the estate of al-Lajlaj the physician; then the estate of ‘Awf b. Nizar
al-Yamami and the Yamamiyya Lane, leading to the mansion of Sulayman b.
Mujalid; then the estate of al-Fadl b. Ja‘wana al-Razi, which later belonged to
Dawud b. Sulayman, secretary to Umm Ja'far, known as Dawid al-Nabatī; then
the Sib (Canal)** and the mansion of Hubayra b. ‘Amr—also on the Sib was the
estate of Salih al-Baladi in Sabbah Lane, which led to ‘Abd al-Wahhab’s Little
Market. Then comes the estate of Oābūs b. Samayda‘. Across from it was the
estate of Khalid b. al-Walid, which later belonged to Abu Salih Yahya b. ‘Abd
al-Rahman the secretary, chief of the ministry of the land tax in the days of al-
Rashid, so that it became known as Abi Salih's Mansions.

Then comes the estate of Shuba b. Yazid al-Kābulī; then the suburb of al-
Quss, al-Mansur’s client, after whom the garden of al-Quss is named; then
the suburb of al-Haytham b. Mu'awiya, known as al-Haytham's Shār-sūg,**

51 Text: şãhib al-rikab. The name has fallen out of the text.

52 Seenote 13 above.

53 Partof the text seems to be missing here.

54 The word is undotted, so the reading is uncertain. The Leiden editor read it as al-Sib and
treated it as a toponymn; however, the word may simply be another term for a kind of
watercourse or canal.

55 X AnArabized version of Persian chahar-su (square or marketplace).

BAGHDAD 81

where a large extended market, residences, lanes, and streets, all named for
al-Haytham’s Shār-sūg, are found; then the estate of the Marwarrūdhiyya, the
family of Abu Khalid al-Anbari; then the suburb of Abu Yazid al-Sharawi, client
of Muhammad b. ‘Ali, | and his comrades; then the estate of Musa b. Ka'b al-
Tamimi, who used to be the head of al-Mansur's police (shurta); then the estate
of Bishr b. Maymūn and his residences; then the estate of Sa'id b. Da‘laj al-
Tamimi; then the estate of al-Shikhkhir and Zakariyya' b. al-Shikhkhir; then
the suburb of Abū Ayyüb Sulayman b. Ayyūb, known as Abū Ayyūb al-Khūzī
al-Mūriyānī —Mūriyān is a village in one of the rural districts of al-Ahwaz
known as Manadhir. Then comes the estate of Raddad b. Zadhan, known as
al-Raddadiyya; then al-Mamadd-dàr59 Then comes the border of the Harb
suburb, before which is al-Ramaliyya (the Sandy Place). This is the quarter that
was governed by Sulayman b. Mujalid, Wadih the client of the Commander of
the Faithful, and the engineer ‘Imran b. al-Waddah.

At the beginning of the Bab al-Sham quarter is the estate of al-Fadl b. Sulayman
al-Tūsī, and adjacent to it are the prison known as the Bab al-Sham Prison
and the shops known as the Suq Bab al-Sham. The latter is a great market in
which there are all sorts of merchandise and goods for sale spread out to the
right and to the left. It is densely populated and provided with avenues, lanes,
and lots. It extends along a grand avenue off which are long lanes; each lane is
named for a nationality that resides on both sides of it. It comprises everything
as far as the suburb of Harb b. ‘Abdallah al-Balkhī. At the present time, there
is no more spacious suburb in Baghdad, nor one greater, nor one with more
lanes and markets. Its residents include people from Balkh, Marw, al-Khuttal,
Bukhara, Asbishab, Ishtakhanj, Kabul-shah, and Khwarazm. Each ethnic group
has a military and a civilian leader (gā'id wa-ra'is). Also there is the estate of
al-Hakam b. Yusuf al-Balkhī, sahib al-hirab,5” who used to be in charge of the
police.

From Bab al-Sham, along the great avenue which runs to the bridge over the
Tigris, there is a market on the left and right. Then comes a suburb known as
House of the Slaves (Dar al-Raqiq), which housed Abū Ja‘far’s slaves who had
been purchased from distant lands and were entrusted to al-Rabrī', his client;

56 The reading and identification of the place are uncertain.

57 This title, not attested elsewhere, apparently refers to the commander of a specialized
military unit; Hugh Kennedy, trans., The History of al-Tabari, XxIx, 85, n. 235, suggests that
hirab were small throwing spears.

248

249

82 THE GEOGRAPHY

then the suburb | of the Kirmaniyya and (their) commander Buzan b. Khalid
al-Kirmani; then the estate of the Sogdians and the mansion of Kharfash al-
Sughdi; then the estate of Mahan al-Samaghani and his comrades; and then the
estate of the Marzuban Abt Asad b. Marzuban al-Faryabi and his comrades,
(former) nomads (ashab al-umud).5% Then you reach the bridge. This is the
quarter that was governed by Harb b. ‘Abdallah, client of the Commander of
the Faithful, and the engineer al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf.59

As for the quarter from Bab Khurasan to the bridge over the Tigris and beyond,
facing (the river) is al-Khuld (Palace),9? and the stables, the parade ground, and
a palace fronting onto the Tigris were there. Abū Jafar (al-Mansur) continued
to reside there, and al-Mahdi used to live there before he moved to his palace
in al-Rusafa on the east bank of the Tigris. After you pass the approach to the
bridge, the bridge itself, the police station, and a workshop for the bridge, the
first of the estates is that of Sulayman b. Abi Ja‘far, on the grand avenue along
the Tigris and in a lane known as Sulayman’s Lane. Next to Sulayman's estate on
the grand avenue is the estate of Salih, son of the Commander of the Faithful
al-Mansür, who was (known as) Salih the Unfortunate, which extended to the
mansion of Najih, al-Mansur's client, which was later owned by ‘Abdallah b.
Tahir. At the end of Salih’s estate is the estate of ‘Abd al-Malik b. Yazid al-Jurjani,
known as Abu ‘Awn, and his comrades from Jurjan. Then comes the estate of
Tamim al-Badhghisi, adjacent to the estate of Abü 'Awn; then the estate of
‘Abbad al-Farghani and his comrades from Farghana; then the estate of ‘Isa b.
Najih, known as Ibn Rawda, and the pages of the office of the chamberlain;™
then the estate of the Afariqa;®? then the estate of Tammam al-Daylami, which
bordered the Bridge of the Straw-vendors (Qantarat al-Tabbanin); then the

58 Marzubān al-Fāryābī would seem to be the "Marzuban b. Turksafi" mentioned by al-
Istakhri and Ibn Hawqal; see Matthew S. Gordon, The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A
History of the Turkish Military of Samarra, 33. The ashab al-‘umud (possessors of tent poles,
clubs, or maces) would presumably have been former Turkish nomads who followed him
to join the caliph's army in Iraq.

59 See note 39 above.

60 Onthis palace built by al-Mansur on the west bank of the Tigris outside the walls of the
Round City, see the article by C. E. Bosworth in £7?, s.v. al-Khuld, Kasr.

61 Arabic ghilmān al-hijaba.

62 Afariqa: people from Ifriqiya (North Africa).

BAGHDAD 83

estate of Hanbal b. Malik; then the estate of the Baghayin,®? comrades of Hafs
b. Uthmān, and the mansion of Hafs, which later belonged to Ishaq b. Ibrahim;
then the market along the Tigris | at the river harbor; and then an estate of
Jafar, son of the Commander of the Faithful al-Mansur, which later belonged
to Umm Jafar, in the area of the Bāb Qutrubbul, known as the estate of Umm
Jafar. On the qibla side were the estate of Marrar al-'Tjli and the estate of ‘Abd
al-Jabbar b. ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Azdi. He was in charge of the security forces, but
then was removed and made governor of Khurasan; he revolted there, so (al-
Mansür) dispatched al-Mahdi with armies against him, and the latter fought
against ‘Abd al-Jabbar and defeated him. Al-Mahdi had ‘Abd al-Jabbar carried
back to Abū Ja‘far (al-Mansur), who had him beheaded and crucified.

In some of these suburbs and estates there are things we have not mentioned
since many (ordinary) people built or inherited estates and other properties
there.

The lanes and streets were counted, and there were six thousand of them. There
were thirty thousand mosques, apart from those constructed later. The public
baths were counted and numbered ten thousand, not including those built
later.

The aqueduct which comes from the Karkhaya canal, which itself draws
water from the Euphrates, carries (water) on strong vaults (mortared) with
quick-lime on the bottom and baked bricks on top and with solidly constructed
arches. It runs into the city and is distributed to most of the avenues of the
suburbs, providing water in summer and winter, since it was engineered in such
a way that its water does not cease at any time. Another aqueduct, similar to
this one, comes from the Tigris and is named the Little Tigris (Dujayl). Water
for the people of al-Karkh and its environs is drawn from a canal called the
Poultry Canal (so named because chicken merchants used to conduct business
there) and from a canal called Tābag b. al-Samih's Canal. They also have the
grand ‘Isa Canal (Nahr Īsā),* which draws from the main part of the Euphrates.
Large boats coming from al-Raqqa can enter it, bringing flour and merchandise
from Syria and Egypt. They arrive at a harbor where there are markets and

63 So vocalized in al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3:634, followed by Wiet, 32, and Lassner, 68. Le Strange,
Baghdad, 108, prefers Baghiyin.

64 The Nahr Īsā, the southernmost of the major canals supplying Baghdad with water,
connected the Euphrates, from which it drew its water, with the Tigris. See the description
in Le Strange, Baghdad, 49 ff.

250

251

252

84 THE GEOGRAPHY

merchants’ shops that are not interrupted at any time, since the water is never
cut off. They also have cisterns | which are filled with water from these canals; it
is sweet water, and all the people drink from them. These canals were especially
needed because of the populousness and extent of the country. Because the
people are surrounded on all sides by the Tigris and the Euphrates, water is so
plentiful that they planted date palms, which were imported from Basra; these
have become more numerous in Baghdad than in Basra, Kufa, or the Sawad.
The people planted trees that bear wonderful fruits. There were many gardens
and orchards everywhere in the suburbs of Baghdad because of the abundance
and sweetness of the water. Everything that was made in any country was made
there, because the most skillful artisans moved there from every country. They
have come there from every direction, emigrating from near and far. This then
is the western part of Baghdad: the city proper, al-Karkh, and the suburbs. On
every side of it there are cemeteries, contiguous villages, and cultivated lands
extending out.

The eastern part of Baghdad is where al-Mahdi b. al-Mansur resided when he
was his father's heir-apparent. He began its construction in the year 143.55 Al-
Mahdilaid outhis palace at al-Rusafa, nextto the congregational mosque there.
He dug a canal drawing from the Nahrawan (Canal); it was called al-Mahdi's
Canal and flowed along the eastern side. Al-Mansur gave land grants to his
brothers and military officers after he had made grants to those on the western
side. It was the side of his city. Land grants were distributed on this side, known
as ‘Askar al-Mahdi (al-Mahdi's Camp), just as they had been on the city side.
People vied to reside near al-Mahdi because of their affection for him and his
generosity towards them with money and gifts, and because there was a greater
amount of land on that side, for people previously had gone to the western side,
which was an island between the Tigris and the Euphrates, and built there and
made shops and stores there. When construction began on the eastern side, it
had become impossible for anyone who wanted to build expansively (to do so
on the western side).

The first of the land grants, at the head of the bridge, belonged to Khu-
zayma b. Khazim al-Tamimi, who was chief of al-Mahdrs security force; | then
came the estate of Isma‘ll b. ‘Ali b. ‘Abdallah b. al-‘Abbas b. Abd al-Muttalib;

65 1493A.H. = April 22, 760 — April n, 761.

BAGHDAD 85

then the estate of al-Abbas b. Muhammad b. Al b. ‘Abdallah b. al-Abbas b.
"Abd al-Muttalib, because he had made his estate on the western side into an
orchard; then the estate of al-Sari b. ‘Abdallah b. al-Harith b. al--Abbas b. ‘Abd al-
Muttalib; then the estate of Qutham b. al-‘Abbas b. ‘Ubaydallah b. al-‘Abbas b.
‘Abd al-Muttalib, who was Abū Ja'far's governor of al-Yamama; then the estate
of al-Rabi‘, the client of the Commander of the Faithful, who, because he had
made his estate on the Karkh side into markets and commercial ventures,
received a land grant with al-Mahdi, where the palace of al-Fadl b. al-Rabī' and
the parade ground (maydan) are; then the estate of Jibril b. Yahya al-Bajalī;
then the estate of Asad b. ‘Abdallah al-Khuzāī; then the estate of Malik b.
al-Haytham al-Khuzāf; then the estate of Salm b. Qutayba al-Bahili; then the
estate of Sufyan b. Mu'awiya al-Muhallabi; then the estate of Rawh b. Hatim;
then the estate of Aban b. Sadaqa the secretary; then the estate of Hamūya
al-Khadim,$6 al-Mahdis client; then the estate of Nusayr al-Wasīf,%7 al-Mahdīs
client; then the estate of Salama al-Wasif, al-Mahdi's chief of the armory; then
the estate of Badr al-Wasif, with the Thirst Market,88 which is a large, spacious
market; then the estate of al-‘Ala’ al-Khadim, al-Mahdīs client; then the estate
of Yazid b. Mansur al-Himyarī; then the estate of Ziyad b. Mansur al-Harithi;
then the estate of Abu ‘Ubayd Mu'awiya b. Barmak al-Balkhi, on the Burdan$?
bridge; then the estate of ‘Umara b. Hamza b. Maymūn; then the estate of
Thabit b. Musa, the secretary of the land tax for Kufa and the region irrigated by
the Euphrates; then the estate of ‘Abdallah b. Ziyad b. Abi Layla al-Khath‘ami,
the secretary of the ministry for the Hijaz, Mosul, the Jazira, Armenia, and
Azerbaijan;”° then the estate of the judge (gādī) Ubaydallāh b. Muhammad b.
Safwan |; then the estate of the secretary Ya/qub b. Dawid al-Sulami, who served
as secretary to al-Mahdi during his caliphate; then the estate of Mansur, al-
Mahdīs client, which is the place known as the Tarred Gate (Bab al-Muqayyar);
then the estate of the general Abu Hurayra Muhammad b. Farrukh, in the
place known as al-Mukharrim; then the estate of Mu‘adh b. Muslim al-Razi,

66 Khādim (servant) often was a euphemism for eunuch.

67 Wasif (slave) was a general term; later it came to designate a black slave, but whether it
had this meaning at this time is unclear. See Dozy, Supplément, 2:810.

68 Arabic Sūg al-Atash. "The original intention of the Caliph Mahdi had been to have called it
the Market of Satiety ... The name of Thirst Market, however, was given to it by the people
in derision.” (Le Strange, Baghdad, 222).

69 Wiet gives Baradān; the vocalization here follows Ibn al-Athir, Lubāb, 1135.

70 A ministry combining the Hijāz and these other areas does not seem very plausible;
something may have dropped out of the text here.

253

254

86 THE GEOGRAPHY

grandfather of Ishaq b. Yahya b. Mu‘adh; then the estate of the admiral” al-
Ghamr b. al-Abbas al-Khath‘ami; then the estate of Sallam, al-Mahdi’s client
(who was in charge of the mazālim court”), in al-Mukharrim; then the estate
of ‘Uqba b. Salm al-Huna'; then the estate of Saīd al-Harashi, at the Harashī
Intersection; then the estate of Mubarak al-Turkī; then the estate of Sawwār,
client of the Commander of the Faithful, and Sawwar Square (Rahbat Sawwar);
then the estate of Nazi, client of the Commander of the Faithful, chief of the
livery, and the Nazi Stable; then the estate of Muhammad b. al-Ash'ath al-
Khuzāī; then the estate of ‘Abd al-Kabir b. ‘Abd al-Hamid b. ‘Abd al-Rahman
b. Zayd b. al-Khattab, brother of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab; then the estate of Abu
Ghassan, client of the Commander of the Faithful al-Mahdi.

Interspersed among the estates are the homes of the soldiers, wealthy res-
idents, merchants, and other people in each quarter and suburb. The great
market for this side, where various goods, wares, and crafts come together, is
at the head of the bridge, running east from the head of the bridge, with goods
and crafts displayed on both sides.

The roads of the eastern side—‘Askar al-Mahdi—branch into five. One road
goes straight to al-Rusafa, where al-Mahdi’s palace and the congregational
mosque are; one road is in the market known as Khudayr Market, which is a
source for luxury goods from China, and goes from it to the parade ground and
the mansion of al-Fadl b. al-Rabi‘; one road goes left to Bab al-Burdan, where the
residences of Khalid b. Barmak and his children were; the Bridge Road (Tariq
al-Jisr) goes from the mansion of Khuzayma to the market known as | Yahya
b. al-Walid's Market and thence to the place known as al-Dür and on to the
Baghdad gate known as al-Shammasiyya, by which one leaves for Samarra; and
one road is near the first bridge, which one crosses in order to come from the
western side, leading along the Tigris to the Tarred Gate and al-Mukharrim and
its environs. This was the more spacious of the two sides due to the number of
markets and shops on the western side as we have described.

Al-Mahdi resided there when he was heir-apparent and during his caliphate.
Misa al-Hādī resided there, as did Harün al-Rashid, al-Ma'mün, and al-
Mu'tasim. It had four thousand lanes and streets, fifteen thousand mosques,
other than those people added later, and five thousand baths, apart from those

71 Arabic sahib al-bahr (master of the sea), apparently refers to his having led naval cam-
paigns in the Mediterranean; see al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3:477, 491 (trans. Kennedy, The History
of al-Tabari, xxix, 188).

72 A special court set up to hear petitions against official and unofficial abuse of power—
mazālim means unjust or oppressive actions. On the development of the system, see the
article by J. S. Nielsen in £1’, s.v. Mazalim.

SAMARRA 87

people built later. The rent from the markets of Baghdad on both sides, includ-
ing the Patrician’s Mill and its environs, amounted each year to twelve million
dirhams.

Seven caliphs resided in Baghdad: al-Mansur, al-Mahdi, Musa al-Hadi, Harün
al-Rashid, Muhammad al-Amin, ‘Abdallah al-Ma’mun, and al-Mu'tasim. Only
one of them died there, Muhammad al-Amin b. Harün al-Rashid, who was
murdered outside Bab al-Anbar near Tahir’s Garden.

We have described these estates, avenues, lanes, and streets as they were
laid out in the days of al-Mansur and at the time of their inception. They
have changed—the people who originally owned them died, and they were
possessed by one group of people and another, generation after generation.
Some places became more built up, and houses changed hands. The notables,
grandees, military officers, and notable people moved with al-Mu'tasim to
Samarra in the year 223.7? They stayed there in the days of al-Wathiq and al-
Mutawakkil. However, Baghdad did not fall into ruin, and its markets were not
diminished, since they could not be replaced; cultivated areas and houses went
on continuously between Baghdad and Samarra on both the land and river
sides, that is, along the Tigris and on both banks of the Tigris. |

Samarra“

We have given an account of Baghdad, its foundation, and the time when Abu
Ja‘far al-Mansür built it. We have described how it was designed, and how
its suburbs, estates, markets, lanes, streets, and quarters—on the west side
of the Tigris, which is the side of the (Round) City and al-Karkh, and on the
east side, which is the side of al-Rusafa, which is called ‘Askar al-Mahdi—
were apportioned. Having said what we know about this, let us now give an
account of Samarra. It is the second of the cities of the caliphs of the Banu
Hashim. Eight caliphs resided there, including al-Mu'tasim, who founded it and
constructed it; al-Wathig, who was Harun b. al-Mu'tasim; al-Mutawakkil Ja‘far

73 223A.H. = December 3, 837 - November 23, 838.

74 On Samarra (Surra-man-ra as al-Ya‘qubi gives it) and its community, see the article by
A. Northedge in £7, s.v. Samarra. One may add to the bibliography mentioned there:
Alastair Northedge, Samarra: Residenz der Abbāsidenkalifen 836—892 n. Chr., 221-279 Higri;
idem, The Historical Topography of Samarra; C. F. Robinson, ed., A Medieval Islamic City
Reconsidered: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Samarra; and Matthew S. Gordon, The
Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turkish Military of Samarra, A.H.200—
275/815-889 C. E.

255

256

88 THE GEOGRAPHY

b. al-Mu'tasim; al-Muntasir Muhammad b. al-Mutawakkil; al-Musta‘in Ahmad
b. Muhammad b. al-Mu'tasim; al-Mu'tazz Abü ‘Abdallah b. al-Mutawakkil; al-
Muhtadi Muhammad b. al-Wathiq; and al-Mu'tamid Ahmad b. al-Mutawakkil.

Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub” said: In olden times, Samarra was nothing but an
open plain in the land of al-Tirhan. There were no buildings there except for a
Christian monastery at the site where the government palace known as the Dar
al-Amma came to be; the monastery was taken over as the treasury. When al-
Mu'tasim came to Baghdad, returning from Tarsus in the year in which he was
recognized as caliph, which was 218,79 he resided at al-Ma'mūrrs palace. Then
he builta palace on the eastern side of Baghdad and moved there, staying there
in the years 218, 219, 220, and 221. A group of Turks, who at the time spoke no
Arabic,77 were with him.

Ja‘far al-Khushshaki informed me, saying: In the days of al-Ma'mün, al-
Mu'tasim used to send me to Nuh b. Asad in Samarqand to purchase Turks.
I would bring him a group of them each year. | In the days of al-Ma'mün
about three thousand slaves were acquired for him. When he became caliph,
he applied himself diligently to seeking them and even bought whatever slaves
were in Baghdad from private citizens. Those he bought in Baghdad formed
a large group. They included Ashnas,"? who was a slave of Nu‘aym b. Khazim,
the father of Haran b. Nu'aym; Itakh, who was a slave of Sallam b. al-Abrash;
Wasif, who was a slave armorer belonging to al-Nu‘man’s family; and Sima al-
Dimashgī, who was a slave of Dhu l-Ri'asatayn al-Fadl b. Sahl."? When these
barbarian Turks rode their horses, they would gallop about and crash into peo-
ple left and right; so the rabble would pounce on them, killing some and beating
up others. Their blood could be shed with impunity, with no one bothering the
culprit. This weighed heavily on al-Mu'tasim, and he decided to leave Bagh-

75 Thatis, al-Ya‘qubi, the author of the work.

76 AlYa'gūbī, Ta’rikh, 2:575, gives the date as 12 nights remaining (i.e., the 18th day) in Rajab,
218 (August 9, 833).

77 Arabic wa-hum yawma'idhin ‘ajam (and they at that date were 'ajam): that is, they were
speakers of an incomprehensible language, barbarians in the literal sense.

78 Ashnas is the usual reading of this name, but the etymology given by al-Tabari, Ta’rikh,
31017, suggests that the reading Ashinas may be more correct.

79 On this passage and on Ashnas, Itakh, Wasif, and Sima, see Gordon, Breaking of a Thousand
Swords, 17—18.

SAMARRA 89

Mosque al-Hayr Ņ gars

Dar Af me
| Y
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al-Shah

at al-Mu*

` < Madin:

MAP 3 Samarra

90

MAP 4

Al-Umar (| TS

T

1 -
bJal-Mahdi ^.

uz V

Abu al-Wazir |

Wadi Ibrahim b. Riyal

Qusur al-Khalifa + |
= Bab àl-Bustan

Avenues described by
al-Ya'gubi

== Other streets

al-Gharib ?

of Wasif

_ Shari Abi A hmad

i

if

i
ifs

Congregational

| Mosque

Great\Market \
Mosque of
al Mutasim

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Samarra as Described by al-Ya‘qubi

THE GEOGRAPHY

SAMARRA 91

dad.8? He went to al-Shammasiyya, the place where al-Ma'mūn used to go to
pass some days or months. He intended to build a city outside Baghdad at al-
Shammasiyya, but the land at that spot seemed too constricted to him, and he
also disliked its proximity to Baghdad. So he went on to al-Burdan at the advice
of al-Fadl b. Marwan, who was vizier at the time. That was in the year 221.8! He
stayed at al-Burdan a few days and summoned the engineers, but that site did
not please him either. Then he came to a place known as Bahamsha on the east
bank of the Tigris. He surveyed there for a city on the Tigris and looked for a
place where a canal could be dug, but he did not find one. He went on to the
village known as al-Matira and stayed there a while, and then continued to al-
Qatul. He said, "This is the most suitable place" He caused the canal known
as the Qatul to go through the center of the city and the buildings to be along
both the Tigris and the Qatul. He began construction and assigned land-grants
to military officers, bureaucrats, and important people. | They built until the
buildings became tall and markets were laid out along the Qatul and the Tigris.
Al-Mu‘tasim took up residence in one of the buildings that had been built for
him, and some of the important people did likewise. Then he said that the land
around the Qatul was unsatisfactory; it was full of pebbles and stones, was very
difficult to build on, and had insufficient space. Then he rode out hunting and
went on his way until he came to a place that would please whoever saw it.9? It
was a desolate area in the land of al-Tirhàn where there were no buildings and
no people, except for a Christian monastery. He stopped at the monastery and
talked with the monks there. He asked, “What is the name of this place?” One of
the monks replied: “We find in our ancient books that this place is named Surra-
man-ra'3;8 that it was the city of Shem, son of Noah; and that it will be rebuilt in
the fullness of time by a great, triumphant, and victorious king whose comrades
have faces like birds of the wasteland. He will reside there, and his children will
reside there." So al-Mu'tasim said: “By God! I will build it and reside there, and
my children will reside there.” Once, al-Rashid had ordered that his children
should go out hunting, so I went with Muhammad, al-Ma'mun, and al-Rashid's

80 On this and related versions of the caliph’s decision to leave Baghdad, see Gordon, ibid.,
50—55.

81 221A.H. = December 26, 835 - December 13, 836.

82 The name of Samarra’ (probably from an older toponym, cf. Syriac Shūmarā) was pop-
ularly derived from the phrase Surra Man Ra'à (He who Sees It Is Delighted), a folk ety-
mology that became the new city’s official name; al-Ya‘qubi consistently spells the name
in this way. See the article by A. Northedge in E12, s.v. Samarra. The Arabic therefore can
also be translated, “He came to the site of Samarra.”

83 See the previous note.

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258

92 THE GEOGRAPHY

older children. Each one of us caught some game—I caught an owl. Then we
went back and presented our game to him. The servants who were with us were
saying, “This is so-and-so’s catch, and that is so-and-so’s catch,” until my catch
was presented to him. When he saw the owl, which the servants were reluctant
to present lest he regard it as a bad omen or treat me badly me because of it,
he said, “Who caught this?” They replied, "Abu Ishāg”$* He regarded it as aus-
picious and laughed and was happy. Then he said, “He will attain the caliphate;
his soldiers, companions, and those who have influence with him will be peo-
ple whose faces are like the face of this owl. He will rebuild an ancient city and
reside there with those people; and his children after him will reside there.” Al-
Rashid was not as happy that day with anything that had been caught as he was
with my catching that owl.

Thus al-Mu'tasim decided to reside at that place. He summoned Muhammad
b. ‘Abd al-Malik al-Zayyāt, Ibn Abi Du'ād,*5 | ‘Umar b. Faraj, and Ahmad b.
Khalid, known as Abū l-Wazīr, and told them, “Buy this land from the owners
of this monastery and pay them four thousand dinars as its price" They did
so. Then he summoned the engineers and said, "Chose the most suitable of
these sites." They selected a number of places for compounds. He assigned each
of his comrades to construct a compound. He assigned Khagan 'Urtūj Abu l-
Fath b. Khāgān to build al-Jawsaq®® al-Khāgānī; ‘Umar b. Faraj to build the
the compound known as al-‘Umari;®” and Abū l-Wazir to build the compound
known as al-Wazīrī.

Then he drew the boundaries for the land-grants for the military officers,
the bureaucrats, and the populace. He laid out the congregational mosque and
demarcated the markets around this mosque. The boundaries of the markets
were spacious; each type of trade was set up in a separate area, and each group
of tradesmen was confined to that area, as the markets in Baghdad had been
planned. He ordered the assembling of laborers, builders, and craftsmen such
as blacksmiths, carpenters, and other trades, as well as the importing of teak
and other types of wood and logs from Basra and its environs, from Baghdad

84 Abū Ishaq was the kunya (familiar name) of Muhammad b. Harün, the future caliph who
took the regnal name of al-Mu'tasim.

85 | Ahmadb. Abi Du’ad al-Iyadi (d. 240/854) was chief judge under the ‘Abbasids starting with
al-Mu'tasim (r. 218—227/833—842) until the year 232/847, in the reign of al-Mutawakkil.

86 Jawsag is the Arabic form of Persian kushk, palace, villa.

87 The text has al-Ghumari, presumably a typographical error.

SAMARRA 93

and other parts of the Sawad, and from Antioch and other coastal towns of
Syria. He brought in masons to cut and dress marble, and shops for working
marble were set up in Latakia and elsewhere.

Al-Mu'tasim kept the land-grants for the Turks separate from those of all
other people. He kept the Turks segregated from the others, so that they would
not mix with any of the assimilated people?? and only people from Farghana
would be their neighbors. He granted Ashnās and his comrades estates in
the place known as al-Karkh and joined to him a number of Turkish military
officers and men, ordering him to build mosques and markets. He granted
estates to Khaqan 'Urtūj and his comrades adjacent to al-Jawsag al-Khaqani
and ordered him to keep his comrades together and forbid them to mix with the
populace. He granted estates to Wasif and his comrades adjacent to al-Hayr; he
built an enclosure named Hair al-Hayr around them. The land-grants for all the
Turks and the non-Arabs from Farghana were kept far from the markets and the
crowds of the wide avenues and long lanes. There was not a single merchant or
other ordinary person | interspersed among them in their estates and lanes. Al-
Mu'tasim bought them slave girls and had them take wives from among them.
He forbade them to marry or to become related through marriage to any of the
assimilated people; even when their children grew up, they too could marry
only among themselves. Fixed stipends were established for the Turks' slave
girls, and their names were registered in the administrative records. None of
the Turks could divorce his wife or separate from her.

Having granted Ashnās the Turk an estate at the western end of the built-up
area, and having granted his comrades estates with him and named the place al-
Karkh, al-Mu'tasim ordered that no outside merchant and other person should
be permitted to settle near them and forbade them to have any contact with the
indigenous people. He also granted estates beyond al-Karkh to another group
of people and named the place al-Dur. He built mosques and baths for them
among the mansions and estates. In each place, he established a small market
in which were a number of shops for grocers,? butchers, and other essential
tradesmen.

He granted al-Afshin Khaydhar b. Kawüs al-Usrüshani an estate at the east-
ern end of the built-up area, about two farsakhs away, and named the place
al-Matira. He granted al-Afshin's comrades from Usrüshana and others who

88 Arabic bi-qawmin min al-muwalladin: the term muwallad refers to persons of mixed
ancestry, Arab and non-Arab, and by extension to persons assimilated to Arabic culture.

89 Text: al-famiyyin. Sources cited by Wiet indicate that these were merchants of wheat or
other grains; however, Ibn al-Athīr, Lubāb, 2:410 says that the word designated grocers who
sold dried fruits and vegetables.

259

260

94 THE GEOGRAPHY

had been attached to him estates around his mansion, and he ordered him to
build a small market there with shops for essential trades, mosques, and baths.

Al-Hasan b. Sahl requested an estate between the furthest markets, at the
end of which was the hill where the gibbet for Babak®° came to be erected, and
al-Matira, the site of Afshin’s estate. There were no buildings in the area at the
time, but later it became so surrounded with buildings that al-Hasan b. Sahl’s
estate came to be in the middle of Samarra. People’s buildings stretched out in
every direction all the way to al-Matira.

Avenues were laid out to the estates of the military officers of Khurasan
and their comrades in the army and the Shakiriyya.?! To the right and left of
the avenues | were lanes and houses for the general populace. The avenue
known as al-Sarija, which was the principal avenue, stretched from al-Matira
to the watercourse known at that time as Wadi Ishaq b. Ibrahim, because
Ishaq b. Ibrahim moved from his estate in the days of al-Mutawakkil and built
extensively at the head of the watercourse.

Then came the estate of Ishaq b. Yahya b. Mu'adh; after it there were estates
for people on the left and the right of that grand avenue and in lanes on both
sides of the avenue, which led in one direction to an avenue named for Abü
Ahmad, who was Abü Ahmad b. al-Rashid, and in the other direction to the
Tigris and vicinity. The estates continued to the principal ministry of the land
tax, which was in that large avenue. In that avenue were the estates of the
Khurasani military officers, among them the estate of Hashim b. Bānījūr; the
estate of Ujayf b. 'Anbasa; the estate of al-Hasan b. ‘Ali al-Ma’muni; the estate of
Harun b. Nu‘aym; and the estate of Hizam b. Ghalib. Behind Hizam’s estate were
the stables for the caliph's mounts, both the official and private ones; Hizam
and his brother Ya‘qub were in charge of them.

go Babak was the leader of a religious and social movement that rebelled against the cali-
phate during the reigns of al-Ma'mün and al-Mu'tasim. Its followers received the name
of Jawidaniyya from the leader of the Khurramiyya sect, Jawidhan b. Sahl, whose mantle
Babak inherited. The revolt was put down, and Babak himself was taken to Baghdad and
executed in 222/837. See the article by P. Crone in E12, s.v. Babak, and the fuller account
in Crone's Nativist Prophets of Early Islamic Iran, 46—76. On al-Badhdh, see Barthold,
Historical Geography, 224, and the article by C. E. Bosworth in Er”, s.v. al-Badhdh.

91 Shàkiriyya (from Persian čākir, servant) probably refers to private militias fighting under
the patronage of princes from the ruling dynasty or commanders belonging to the class
of military nobility. The institution originated in the eastern provinces of the empire, but
developed in the heartland of the caliphate under the ‘Abbasids. See the article by Khalil
‘Athamina in EI, s.v. al-Shakiriyya.

SAMARRA 95

Then came places for the date-sellers; the slave-market, at an intersection
where a number of roads branched off, with chambers, upper rooms, and
slave-shops; the police station and main prison; and private residences. There
were markets to the left and right on this avenue with various wares and
manufactured goods. That continued until Babak’s gibbet. After that came the
grand market, where there were no houses—each trade was in a separate area,
and each type of artisan was segregated from the others. Then came the Old
Mosque (al-Jami‘ al-Qadim), which continued to be used for Friday prayers
down to the time of al-Mutawakkil; then it became too small for the people,
so that it was torn down and a spacious congregational mosque was built next
to | al-Hayr. The congregational mosque and markets were on one side, and on
the other were estates, residences, and markets for lowly tradesmen such as
sellers of beer ( fuqqa*),?? harisa,?? and wine.

Then came the estate of Rashid al-Maghribi; the estate of Mubarak al-
Maghribi; Mubarak’s Little Market; Ja‘far al-Khayyat Hill, on which was Ja‘far’s
estate; then the estate of Abū l-Wazir; then the estate of al-‘Abbas b. ‘Alt b.
al-Mahdī; then the estate of Abd al-Wahhab b. Alī b. al-Mahdi. The avenue
continued on, with the estates of common people along it, to the mansion of
Hārūn b. al-Mu‘tasim—that is, al-Wathiq—near the Dar al-Amma, which is the
mansion where Yahya b. Aktham resided in the days of al-Mutawakkil, after he
had been appointed chief judge. Then came Bab al-Amma and the caliphal
palace, or Dar al-Amma, where the caliph held audience on Mondays and
Thursdays; then the treasuries for the privy purse and the public treasury; then
the estate of Masrūr Sammana al-Khādim, who was in charge of the treasuries;
then the estate of Qarqas al-Khadim, a native of Khurasan; then the estate of
Thabit al-Khadim; then the estate of Abū l-Ja'fà and other important court
attendants.?4

The second avenue was known by the name of Abu Ahmad— that is, Abu
Ahmad b. al-Rashid. In the east, this avenue began at the mansion of Bakhtishu‘
the physician, which he built in the days of al-Mutawakkil. Then it bore right,
southward in the direction of the gibla, alongside the estates of the Khurasani
military officers and their forces composed of Arabs and men from Qumm,
Isfahan, Qazwin, al-Jabal, and Azerbaijan. This led to the great Sarija Avenue.

92 Fuqqa‘ was a kind of nonalcoholic beer, a carbonated drink made from malted barley and
flavored with salt, sugar, and aromatics. For recipes see Nawal Nasrallah, Annals of the
Caliphs' Kitchens, 454—459, 551.

93 + Harisa was a porridge of cooked crushed grains. See Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphs’
Kitchens, 560.

94 Orthecaliph's eunuchs (al-khadam al-kibar); see note 66 above.

261

262

263

96 THE GEOGRAPHY

To the north, opposite the qibla, it connected with Abū Ahmad Avenue, the
principal ministry of the land tax, Umar's estate, and then an estate for the
scribes and other people. The estate of Abu Ahmad b. al-Rashid was halfway
along the avenue; at its end, adjacent to the western watercourse, | which is
called Wadi Ibrahim b. Riyah, were the estates of Ibn Abi Du'ad, al-Fadl b.
Marwan, Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Malik al-Zayyat, and Ibrahim b. Riyah, all on
the grand avenue. These estates were contiguous with each other all along this
avenue and in the lanes on the right and left as far as the estate of Bugha
the Younger; then the estate of Bugha the Elder; then the estate of Sima al-
Dimashgī; then the estate of Barmash; then the old estate of Wasif; then the
estate of Itakh, which was adjacent to Bab al-Bustan and the caliphal palaces.

The third avenue was the original al-Hayr Avenue, on which the mansion
of Ahmad b. al-Khasib was built in the days of al-Mutawakkil. The start of this
avenue was to the east and from the watercourse which joined the Wadi Ishaq b.
Ibrahim. On it were the estates of the troops, the Shakiriyya, and various other
people. It extended to Wadi Ibrahim b. Riyah.

The fourth avenue was known as Barghamush al-Turki Avenue. On it were
the estates of the Turks and the people from Farghana. The Turkish lanes were
separate and the Farghani lanes were separate. The Turks were in the lanes
which were on the qibla side, and the Farghanis were across from them in the
lanes opposite the qibla. Each lane was across from another lane, and none
of the assimilated people were intermixed with the Turks and Farghanis. The
last of the houses and estates for the Turks were the estates of the Khazars,
in the eastern areas. This avenue began from al-Matira, at the estates of al-
Afshin, which were taken over by Wasif and Wasif's comrades. Then the avenue
extended to the watercourse which joined Wadi Ibrahim b. Riyah.

The fifth avenue was known by the name of Salih al-Abbasi. It was al-
Askar Avenue, in which there were estates of the Turks and the Farghanis. The
Turks again were in separate lanes and the Farghanis in separate lanes. The
avenue extended from al-Matira to the palace of Salih al-Abbasi at the head
of the watercourse. It adjoined the estates of the military officers, bureaucrats,
notables, and ordinary people.

Then came an avenue beyond al-Askar Avenue which was called the New
al-Hayr Avenue (Shari‘ al-Hayr al-Jadid), in which there were a variety | of
people consisting of military officers from the people of Farghana, Usrūshana,
Ishtakhanj, and other rural districts of Khurasan. Whenever estates for a group
of people were added to these avenues which came from al-Hayr, the enclosure
wall would be torn down and another one built further back. Beyond the
enclosure wall, wild animals such as gazelles, onagers, oryx, hares, and ostriches
were kept in a spacious, pleasant plain surrounded by a fence.

SAMARRA 97

The avenue along the Tigris was named Canal Avenue (Shari‘ al-Khalīj).
Docks and boats were there, with wares arriving from Baghdad, Wasit, Kaskar,
and other places in the Sawad; from Basra, al-Ubulla, al-Ahwaz, and that area;
and from Mosul, Ba‘arbaya, Diyar Rabi‘a, and that area. Most or all of the estates
of the Maghariba were there. The place known as al-Azlakh, which was where
the Maghariba?5 foot-soldiers lived, was one of the first parts of Samarra to be
laid out.

Because people had more room for building in Samarra than they did in
Baghdad, they built spacious homes. However, everyone's drinking water came
from the Tigris and was carried in bags on mules and camels, since their
wells had to be very deep, and were salty, unpalatable, and did not yield an
abundance of water; but the Tigris was nearby and there were many water-
carriers.

The profits and income from Samarra and its markets amounted to 10 mil-
lion dirhams a year. Sources of supply for imports, such as Mosul, Ba‘arbaya,
and other areas of Diyar Rabi‘a, were nearby, and the goods were transported
on boats via the Tigris, so that prices were reasonable.

When al-Mu'tasim had finished surveying and laying the foundations of the
buildings on the east side of the Tigris, the Samarra side, he built a bridge
to the west side of the Tigris. He established cultivated areas, orchards, and
gardens there; he had canals dug from the Tigris, and each military officer was
entrusted with the development of one locality. Date palms were imported
from Baghdad and Basra and other areas of the Sawad, and plants were brought
in from the Jazira, Syria, al-Jabal, al-Rayy, Khurasan, and other countries. Water
was plentiful | for these cultivated areas on the west? side of Samarra. The
date palms flourished, the trees took root, the produce ripened, the fruits were
excellent, and the herbs and vegetables were good. People planted various
kinds of crops, herbs, vegetables, and succulent plants. Because the land had
been fallow for thousands of years, whatever was planted in it flourished—so
much so that the revenue from the cultivated areas on the canal known as the

95 Maghariba (pl. of Maghribi) means “people from the Maghrib.” The term Maghrib nor-
mally refers to North Africa, that is, the provinces west of Egypt. Brief references in
‘Abbasid-era sources, however, indicate that the Maghariba were Arab tribesmen from the
districts of al-Hawf in the Nile Delta conscripted late in the reign of al-Ma'mün, c. 214—
215/830—832; see Matthew S. Gordon, The Breaking of a Thousand Swords, 37—40.

96 Text: east, which must be a copyist's mistake.

264

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98 THE GEOGRAPHY

Ishāgī and alongside it, the Itakhi Canal, the Umarī Canal, the ‘Abd al-Maliki
Canal, the Ibn Hammad Waterwheel, the Masrüri Canal, the Sif Canal, the
five villages of al-‘Arabat al-Muhadditha, the seven lower villages, the orchards,
and the gardens, plus the taxes (kharaj) on agricultural property amounted to
400,000 dinars a year.

From every country al-Mu‘tasim summoned workers and craftsmen who
were skilled at construction, farming, date cultivation, planting, channeling
and measuring (the flow of) water, tapping water, and finding underground
water. From Egypt, he brought those who knew how to make papyrus and
other things; from Basra, those who knew how to make glass, pottery, and mats;
from Kufa, those who could make ceramics and who could make oils; and from
other countries, people of every profession and craft. He settled them with
their families in these places, and they received land-grants there. He set up
markets there for those who practiced their professions in the city. Al-Mu‘tasim
built palaces [in] the cultivated areas. In every orchard, he set a compound
with reception rooms, pools, and courtyards. The cultivated areas became so
beautiful that the notables were eager to have even a modest plot of land in
them, and competed for them, and a jarib?" of land cost a great deal of money.

Al-Mutasim-bi'llāh died in the year 227,”% and Hārūn al-Wathiq b. al-
Mu'tasim became caliph. Al-Wathiq built the palace known as al-Hārūnī on
the Tigris. He had it constructed with audience halls on eastern and western
terraces.?? He moved there, and the number of land-grants increased. He had
some people settled near him and others settled further away, out of respect,
not out of disfavor. He granted Wasif as land-grant the mansion of Afshin in
al-Matira, so Wasif moved from his original mansion to Afshin's mansion. He
continued | to reside there with his comrades and retainers around him.

He expanded the markets, and the docks where ships from Baghdad, Wasit,
Basra, and Mosul arrived were enlarged. People resumed building and built
more durably and elaborately when they realized that this had become a real
city; before that they had just called it “the Camp.”

Al-Wathig passed away in the year 232.19? Ja‘far al-Mutawakkil b. al-Mu'tasim
became caliph and resided at al-Hārūnī, which he liked best of all al-Mu'tasim's

97 Originally, a jarib was the amount of land on which one could sow a jarīb of seed (a bushel
of a variety of sizes, depending on region), and so a jarib of unirrigated land was larger
than one of irrigated land. However, there was a tendency to fix the jarib at 100 qasabas
(approximately 1,600 square meters). See the article by C. E. Bosworth in £7’, s.v. Misaha.

98 . AlYa'qübi, Ta’rikh, 2:584, gives a date of Thursday, 19 Rabi‘ 1, 227 (January 6, 842).

99 Arabic dakka: presumably some kind of elevated room. See Lane, Lexicon, s.v.

ioo Al Ya'qübi, Ta'rikh, 2:590, gives a date of Wednesday, 24 Dhū l-Hijja, 232 (August 11, 847).

SAMARRA 99

palaces. He settled his son Muhammad al-Muntasir in al-Mu'tasim's palace
known as al-Jawsaq. He settled his son Ibrahim al-Mu'ayyad in al-Matira, and
settled his son al-Mu'tazz to the east of al-Matira at a place called Balkuwara.
Building became continuous from Balkuwara to the end of the area known
as al-Dur, a distance of four farsakhs. He added al-Askar Avenue and New
Avenue to the avenues of al-Hayr. He built the congregational mosque at the
beginning of al-Hayr in a spacious place outside the inhabited area, so that it
was not adjacent to any land-grant or market. He built it skillfully, spaciously,
and sturdily. He made a fountain in it which ran water constantly. He made the
roads leading to it to consist of three forums,!?! grand and wide, coming from
the avenue which begins at Wadi Ibrahim b. Riyah. In each forum there were
shops with various kinds of wares, manufactured goods, and things for sale.
The width of each forum was one hundred dhirās (in black dhirā's), so that the
caliph's access to the mosque would not be constricted if he attended Friday
prayers at the mosque accompanied by his troops and retainers, his cavalry and
infantry. There were lanes and streets from each forum to the next; the estates
of a number of ordinary people were in them. The homes and mansions had
ample room for their residents; and the merchants, | craftsmen, and artisans
had plenty of room in the shops and markets that were in the forums of the
congregational mosque.

He granted Najah b. Salama the secretary an estate at the end of the forums
on the qibla side of the mosque; he also granted Ahmad b. Isra'il the secretary
an estate near there. He granted estates to Muhammad b. Misa the astronomer
and his brothers, and a group of bureaucrats, military officers, members of the
clan of Hashim, and others.

Al-Mutawakkil decided to build himself a city in order to move there—
one that would be named for him and for which he would be remembered.
So he ordered Muhammad b. Misa the astronomer and the engineers at his
court to choose a site. Their choice fell on a place called al-Mahuza.!?? Al-
Mutawakkil was told that al-Mu'tasim had been about to build a city there and

101 Arabic sufüf (plural of saff) originally meant rows. Northedge, Topography, 271, translates
rows, but forums seems to fit the context here. Lane, Lexicon, s.v. saff, notes that the plural
sufuf can refer both to rows of men and to the place where men assemble in rows.

102 One is tempted to equate al-Mahüza with al-Mada'in, the old Sasanian capital about 26
miles (41.9 km) south of Baghdad. Indeed, one of the Aramaic names for that capital was
Mahozé (the Cities), which translates into Arabic as al-Mad@in. Against this, one notes
that al-Ya‘qubi elsewhere refers to the old Sasanian capital as al-Mad@in, that Aramaic
mahoza (city, settlement) was a generic term, and that the new foundation was close to
Samarra; see Yāgūt, Mu'jam al-buldan, 2:86—89, s.v. al-Ja‘fari.

266

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100 THE GEOGRAPHY

to dig out a canal that had been there in antiquity. Al-Mutawakkil therefore
decided to do this and began planning for it in the year 245.10? He directed that
the canal should be dug to run through the middle of the city. The expendi-
ture for the canal was estimated at 1,500,000 dinars. That did not trouble the
caliph, who agreed to it. The digging began, and great sums were spent for that
canal. The site for the caliph's palaces and residences was marked out, and he
made land-grants to his heirs-apparent and his other children, military officers,
bureaucrats, soldiers, and ordinary people. The grand avenue extended from
the mansion of Ashnās in al-Karkh—it was later owned by al-Fath b. Khaqan—
for a distance of three farsakhs to his palaces. He set three great, high gates
outside his palaces; a horseman with his lance could enter through them. He
granted estates to people to the right and left of the grand avenue, which he
made two hundred dhira‘s wide. He proposed to dig canals on both sides of
the avenue, for water to flow from the large canal that was being excavated.
The palaces were built, the mansions were erected, and the construction rose
up. The caliph would go around in person; whenever he saw someone building
diligently, he rewarded him with gifts and presents, so people built in earnest.
Al-Mutawakkil named this city al-Ja‘fariyya. Buildings ran continuously from
al-Ja‘fariyya to the place known as al-Dūr and thence to al-Karkh and Samarra,
extending to the place where | his son Abū ‘Abdallah al-Mu'tazz had settled.
There was no empty space anywhere between them, no gap, no place without
buildings, for a distance of seven farsakhs.

The construction rose in the space of a year. The markets were set up in a sep-
arate area; there was a market at each intersection and in each neighborhood.
The congregational mosque was built. Al-Mutawakkil moved to the palaces of
this city on the first day of Muharram in the year 247.!04 When he held court, he
bestowed splendid prizes on the people and rewarded them. He gave stipends
to all the military officers, bureaucrats, and those who had undertaken any of
the work. He was overjoyed and said, "Now I know that I am a king, for I have
built myself a city in which I have taken up residence.” The ministries were
moved there: the ministry of the land tax, the ministry of country estates, the
ministry of finances,!°5 the ministry of the army and the Shakiriyya, the min-
istry of clients and pages, the ministry of the post, and all the (other) ministries.
However, the canal was not finished; only a trickle of water was flowing in it,

103 245A.H. = April 8, 859 — March 27, 860.

104 17 March 861. Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:601, where the date of Muharram 246, one year
earlier, is given.

105 Arabic dīwān al-zimam. Literally, “bureau of registry" a ministry that kept a record of
revenues and expenses. See Dozy, Supplément, 1:601, and the article in £1’, s.v. Zimam.

SAMARRA 101

and it was not continuous or ready for use, although something like a million
dinars had already been spent on it: digging it was extremely difficult because
they were digging into gravel and stones where picks were ineffective.

Al-Mutawakkil remained in residence in his palaces at al-Ja‘fariyya for nine
months and three days. He was murdered on 3 Shawwal 247'6 at his Ja‘fari
palace, the most ill-omened of the palaces.

Muhammad al-Muntasir, the son of al-Mutawakkil, became ruler. He moved
to Samarra and ordered the people to move en masse from al-Mahuza, to tear
down the houses, and to haul the rubble to Samarra. So the people moved
and hauled the rubble of the houses to Samarra. The Ja'fari palaces, houses,
dwellings, and markets quickly went to ruin, and the place became deserted
without a person or inhabitant in it—a wasteland, as if nothing had ever been
built there and no one ever had lived there.

Al-Muntasir died at Samarra in Rabi‘ 11 248.097 Al-Mustaīn Ahmad b.
Muhammad b. al-Mu'tasim became ruler. | He stayed in Samarra for two years
and eight months, until his circumstances became troubled; he went down to
Baghdad in Muharram 251.108 He stayed there, fighting against the support-
ers of al-Mu'tazz for an entire year, while al-Mu'tazz was in Samarra, backed
by the Turks and other clients. Then al-Mustaīn was deposed, and al-Mu'tazz
became ruler. He stayed (in Samarra) until he was murdered, three years and
seven months after the deposition of al-Musta'īn. Muhammad al-Muhtadi b.
al-Wathiq received the oath of allegiance as caliph in Rajab 255.199 He resided
for a whole year in al-Jawsaq Palace until he was murdered—may God have
mercy on him. Ahmad al-Mu'tamid b. al-Mutawakkil became ruler. He stayed
at Samarra in al-Jawsaq and the caliphal palaces; then he moved to the east-
ern (sic) side of Samarra and built a beautiful palace, which he named al-
Ma'shüq.!? He took up residence there and stayed in it until upheaval set in,
whereupon he moved to Baghdad, and thence to al-Mada’in.

From the time Samarra was built and inhabited until we have written about
it in this book of ours, fifty-five years have passed. Eight caliphs ruled there,
and five died or were murdered there: al-Mu'tasim, al-Wathiq, al-Muntasir, al-
Mu'tazz, and al-Muhtadi. Two were killed in its environs, in areas adjacent to it
or near it: al-Mutawakkil and al-Mustaīn. Its name in ancient books was Zawra'

106 December 10, 861.

107 AlYa'qubi Ta’rikh, 2:603, gives a date of Saturday, 4 Rabi‘ 11, 248 (June 7, 862).
108 February 865.

109 Al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:617, gives a date of Tuesday, 27 Rajab, 255 (July u, 869).
110 “The Beloved.”

268

269

102 THE GEOGRAPHY

Bani l-Abbas.!!! This is justified because the qiblas of its mosques were all off-
axis. Although not a single one was accurate, not one has been torn down or
forgotten.

We have now described Baghdad and Samarra. We began with them because
they are the two royal cities and seats of the caliphate, and we have described
the foundation of each of them. Let us now give an account of the other
countries and the distances between one country and another and one city
and another, in four parts, according to the four regions of the world: east;
west; south, the direction of the qibla, which is where Canopus, which the
astronomers call al-Tayman, rises; and north, which is the abode of the Bear,!!2
which the astronomers call Polaris.” | We shall describe each country accord-
ing to the quarter in which it is located and what is adjacent to it. May God
grant success.

The First Quarter: The East

From Baghdad to al-Jabal, Azerbaijan, Qazwin, Zanjan, Qumm, Isfahan, al-
Rayy, Tabaristan, Jurjan, Sijistan, and Khurasan and the parts of Tibet and
Turkistan that border on it.

The Rural Districts (KUWAR) of al-Jabal™
If one wishes to proceed eastward from Baghdad, one begins from the part of it
on the east bank of the Tigris and then heads east to the place known as Three
Gates, which is the easternmost part of Baghdad. Next one travels straight on to
the bridge at al-Nahrawan.!5 Nahrawan is a venerable old town beside a canal
that branches off from a canal called the Tamarra that comes from al-Jabal

111 “The Oblique of the ‘Abbasids.”

112 The Arabic banat al-na'sh does not specify whether Ursa Minor (al-sughra) or Ursa Major
(al-kubra) is meant.

113 Arabic “Al-Jady,” which usually means Capricorn, also can mean Polaris, which is clearly
intended here.

114 Onthe province known as al-Jabal, see note 24 above.

115 Onthetown of al-Nahrawan and the canal system, see the article by M. Morony in E12, s.v.
al-Nahrawan.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 103

and then goes on to irrigate some of the counties of the Sawad and which is
navigable by large boats and big ships. After one crosses the Nahrawan bridge,
the various routes to al-Jabal branch out.

If one wishes to go to the rural districts of Masabadhan,"® Mihrijanqad-
haq," and al-Saymara,!? one bears right upon crossing the Nahrawan bridge.
After six stages, one reaches the county-seat of Masabadhan, a city known as al-
Sirawan,!? which is important, large, and spread out between mountains and
valleys. It is the city which most resembles Mecca. It has springs from which
water gushes out and flows through the town to large streams which irrigate the
fields, villages, country estates, and gardens along their banks for a distance of
three stages. These springs are hot in winter and cold in summer. The city has
a mixed population of Arabs and non-Arabs.

Al-Saymara

From the city of al-Sirawan to the city of al-Saymara, which is the main city of
the rural district known as Mihrijangadhag, is a distance of two stages. The city
of al-Saymara is situated in a vast meadow dotted with springs and streams |
that water the villages and fields. The population is a mixture of Arabs and
of non-Arabs who are Persians and Kurds. Masabadhan and al-Saymara were
conquered during the caliphate of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab. The land tax from this
area amounts to 2.5 million dirhams. The people speak Persian.

If one wishes to go from Baghdad to Hulwan,"? one bears left after crossing the
Nahrawan bridge, going to Daskarat al-Malik,?! where there are wonderfully
constructed, beautiful palaces of the Persian kings. From Daskarat al-Malik
one goes to Tarāristān,!?? where there are more wonderful remains of buildings

116 LeStrange, Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 202.

117 Ibid.; also vocalized as Mihrijanqudhaq (Yaqut, Mujam al-buldan, 4:698).

118 Barthold, Historical Geography, 207; article by C. E. Bosworth in E12, s.v. Saymara.

119 Barthold, Historical Geography, 207.

120 On Hulwan see the article by L. Lockhart in £1’, s.v. Hulwan; Barthold, Historical Geogra-
phy, 198—199.

121 Daskarat al-Malik (King's Daskara) was located on the Khurasan Road, about 16 farsakhs
(88 kilometers) from Baghdad. See the article by A. A. Duri in EI, s.v. Daskara.

122 The reading of the text and identification are uncertain. The printed edition reads Tarāri-

270

271

104 THE GEOGRAPHY

attributed to the Persian kings. There are also aqueducts constructed of gypsum
and bricks, some built in channels on top of each other. Some come from the
Qatul canals, and others from the Nahrawan canal. From Tararistan one goes
to the battlefield of Jalula';?? the first part of al-Jabal. This is where the battle
with the Persians took place in the days of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab, when Sa‘d b.
Abi Waggās overtook them. God scattered the Persian forces and put them to
flight. This was in the year 19A.H.7^ From Jalila one goes to Khānigīn,5 a
particularly attractive and important village. From Khaniqin one goes to Qasr
Shīrīn.!26 Shirin was the wife of Kisra and spent her summers in this castle.
Many antiquities of the Persian kings are found in this area. From Qasr Shirin
one goes to Hulwan.

Hulwan

The city of Hulwan is large and beautiful. Its inhabitants are a mixture of Arabs
and of non-Arabs who are Persians and Kurds. It was conquered in the days
of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab. Although Hulwan is one of the rural districts of al-
Jabal, its land tax is included as part of the revenue from the counties of the
Sawād. From Hulwan one proceeds to the meadow known as Marj al-Qal‘a,!2”
where the caliph’s mounts are put to pasture. From Marj al-Qal‘a one goes to
al-Zubaydiyya, and thence to the city of Qarmasin. Qarmasin is an important,
populous place. Most of the people are non-Arabs: Persians and Kurds. From
the town of Oarmāsīn to al-Dinawar is three stages.

Al-Dinawar
Al-Dīnawar!?5 is an important city with a mixed population of Arabs and non-
Arabs. It was conquered in the days of ‘Umar. It is called Mah al-Küfa'?? because
its revenue was used to pay the stipends of the people of Kufa. A number of

stan, with a note that a second hand has corrected it in the margin of the Ms to Tabaristan,
which is geographically impossible. Perhaps one should read Tazāristan, and identify the
place as Tazar of al-Muqaddasi, 393, and Yāgūt, 3:537; see Barthold, Historical Geography,
198 n. 20; Wiet, 67.

123 For accounts of the Arab victory over the Persians at Jalūlā”, see al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:173;
al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 1:2456 ff.; and the article by M. Streck in £7’, s.v. Djalūlā”.

124 That is, 640C.E.; al-Tabari dates the battle to the end of the year 16 (late 637 or early 638).

125 See the article by P. Schwarz in EI’, s.v. Khanikin; Barthold, Historical Geography, 199.

126 See the article by M. Streck and J. Lassner in £1’, s.v. Kasr-i Shirin; Barthold, Historical
Geography, 199.

127 Le Strange, Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 192.

128 See the article by L. Lockhart in E12, s.v. Dinawar; Barthold, Historical Geography, 207—208.

129 Arabic and Persian writers explain Mah as coming from a Persian word variously glossed as

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 105

districts and cantons!°° are included among its dependencies. The revenue
from its land tax, not counting the crown estates, amounts to 5.7 million
dirhams.

Qazwin and Zanjan

Whoever wants to go from al-Dinawar to Qazwin and Zanjan??! proceeds from
al-Dinawar to the town of Abhar, where the roads diverge. If one is heading for
Zanjan, one bears left from Abhar to Zanjan; then one goes on to the city of
Qazwin. Qazwin is off the main road, at the foot of a mountain which borders
al-Daylam. There are two riverbeds there, one called al-Wadi al-Kabir and the
other Wadi Siram. Water flows in them during the winter, but dries up in the
summer. The population is a mixture of Arabs and non-Arabs. Some Persian
antiquities are found there, including fire temples. Its land tax, along with
that of Zanjan, is 1.5 million dirhams. Roads fan out from it to Hamadhan,
al-Dinawar, Shahrazūr, Isfahan, and al-Rayy, as well as the road from it to
Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan
Whoever wants to go to Azerbaijan!” travels four stages from Zanjan to the
city of Ardabīl,3 the first town in Azerbaijan that one reaches. From Ardabil to
Barzand,+ one of the rural districts of Azerbaijan, is a three-day journey. From
Barzand one goes to the city of Warthān,!* in another rural district of Azerbai-

town, capital, province, or kingdom. A more likely explanation is that Mah reflects Mada,
the old word for Media, the land of the Medes, where the city was located. See L. Lockhart's
article in EI”, s.v. Dinawar.

130 Arabic agālīm wa rasātīg. For iglīm/agālīm, see note 10 above. The rustāg (plural rasātīg)
was an administrative unit that in al-Ya‘qubi’s usage seems to be a division of a kura,
without any sizable town, and often located ina hilly or mountainous area. It is translated
by convention here as “canton.”

131 See the article by C. E. Bosworth in £1’, s.v. Zandjan; Barthold, Historical Geography, 208—
211.

132 See the article by V. Minorsky in Er, s.v. Ādharbaydjān; Barthold, Historical Geography,
214—225.

133 See the articles by R. N. Frye in E1?, s.v Ardabil, and by Kishwar Rizvi in E13, s.v. Ardabil;
Barthold, Historical Geography, 215—217.

134 See the article by R. N. Frye in E12, s.v. Barzand; Barthold, Historical Geography, 224 gives
the distance from Ardabil to Barzand as 14 farsakhs (c. 91km on modern maps).

135 Modern Altan; see V. Minorsky in Er”, s.v. Adharbaydjan; Le Strange, Lands of the Eastern
Caliphate, 230.

272

106 THE GEOGRAPHY

jan; from Warthan to al-Baylaqan;?6 and from al-Baylaqan to al-Maragha,!?"
the main city of Upper Azerbaijan. The rural districts of Azerbaijan are Arda-
bil, Barzand, Warthan, Bardha'a,38 al-Shiz,!3? Sarat,4° Marand,! Tabriz,!*2 |
al-Mayānij,!*3 Urmiya,^* Khuwayy,^5 and Salmas.!^9 The inhabitants of the
towns and rural districts of Azerbaijan are a mixture of Adhari Persians and
the ancient Jawidaniyya, lords of the city of al-Badhdh where Babak was.!^? The
Arabs settled in Azerbaijan when it was conquered in the year 22 by al-Mughira
b. Shu'ba al-Thaqafi during the caliphate of Uthmān b. 'Affān.!$ The revenue
from its land tax is 4 million dirhams, more in one year and less in another.

Hamadhan
Whoever wants to go from al-Dinawar to the city of Hamadhàn!?? proceeds
two stages from the town of al-Dinawar to a place called Muhammadabadh.!50
From Muhammadabadh to Hamadhan is another two stages. Hamadhan is a

136 The site has been identified as modern Oren Kale in Azerbaijan. See the articles by
D. M. Dunlop in £7’, s.v. Baylakan, and by J. M. Rogers, s.v. Óren Kal'e; Barthold, Historical
Geography, 228, locates the town near the confluence of the Araxes and Kur rivers.

137 See the article by V. Minorsky in EI”, s.v. Maragha; Barthold, Historical Geography, 214. The
situation of al-Maragha at an elevation of 5,500 feet explains why al-Ya‘qubi calls it the
main city of Upper Azerbaijan (Adharbayjan al-'Ulya).

138 OnBardha'a (modern Barda), see the article by D. M. Dunlop in E12, s.v. Bardha'a; Barthold,
Historical Geography, 2277-228.

139 Described in many sources as a major Zoroastrian religious site, now known as Takht-e
Sulayman: See the article by J. Ruska and C. E. Bosworth in E12, s.v. Shiz; Barthold, Historical
Geography, 208, 214.

140 On Sarat (usually given as Sarav), see Le Strange, Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 163, 168,
230.

141 On Marand, see the article by V. Minorsky and C. E. Bosworth in £7°, s.v. Marand.

142 On Tabriz, see the article by V. Minorsky, C. E. Bosworth, and Sheila S. Blair in E12, s.v.
Tabriz; Barthold, Historical Geography, 217 ff.

143 Al-Mayanij is probably the same as the town listed by Yāgūt, Mujam al-buldān, 4:710, s.v.
Miyana, located midway between between Maragha and Tabriz.

144 On the lake and the city of Urmiya, see the article by V. Minorsky and C. E. Bosworth in
EI’, s.v. Urmiya.

145 So in the text; modern Khoi. See the article by R. M. Savory in E1>, s.v. Khoi, Khüy.

146 On Salmās, see the article by C. E. Bosworth in EI, s.v. Salmas.

147 On Babak, see note go above.

148 22A.H. = November 30, 642 - November 18, 643; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:180.

149 On Hamadhan (modern Hamadān), see the article by R. N. Frye in £1’, s.v. Hamadhan;
Barthold, Historical Geography, 128-132.

150 Not to be confused with a place of the same name in Khurāsān.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 107

large, important country to which many regions and rural districts are attached.
It was conquered in the year 23.15! Its land tax amounts to six million dirhams.
It is called Mah al-Basra because its land tax used to be taken for the stipends
of the people of Basra.!52 The people's drinking water comes from springs and
streams that flow both in winter and in summer. One of them flows to al-Sus,!53
a rural district of al-Ahwaz, and then passes via the Dujayl,!54 the river of al-
Ahwaz, to the city of al-Ahwaz.!55

Nihawand
From Hamadhan to Nihawand!* is two stages. Nihawand is a splendid city,
where the Persians assembled when al-Nu‘man b. Muqarrin al-Muzani at-
tacked them in the year 21.57 It has several dependent districts inhabited by
a mixture of Arabs and non-Arabs. Its land tax, apart from the crown estates, is
one million dirhams.

Al-Karaj
From Nihawand to the city of al-Karaj!5® is two stages. Al-Karaj is the residence
of ‘Isa b. | Idris b. Ma'gil b. Shaykh b. ‘Umayr al-‘Tjli, Abū Dulaf.!59 Not a famous
city in the days of the Persians, it counted only as one of the large villages in a
canton known as Fa'iq!? in the rural district of Isfahan. It is sixty farsakhs from
it to the city of Isfahan. The “jli tribesmen settled there, building fortresses and
compounds. The compounds were named for Abt Dulaf, his brothers, and his

151 23A.H. = November 19, 643 - November 6, 644; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2380.

152 On the name, see the article by M. Morony in EI, s.v Mah al-Basra.

153 Onal-Süs (modern Persian Shūsh), see the article by M. Streck and C. E. Bosworth in Er’,
s.v. al-Süs.

154 Thatis,the Kārūn River, which the Arabs called the Dujayl al-Ahwaz; see Le Strange, Lands,
232.

155 On al-Ahwaz, the main town of Khūzistān, see the article by Mathieu Tillier, in £79, s.v.
al-Ahwaz; Barthold, Historical Geography, 190 ff.

156 Onthistown in the Zagros Mountains, see the article by V. Minorsky in £7’, s.v. Nihawand.

157 21A.H.= December 10, 641 - November 29, 642. Cf. the account in al-Ya'qübi, Ta'rikh, 2:179;
also the bibliography in Minorsky's article mentioned in the previous note.

158 Notthe modern town of Karaj; the exact location is uncertain, but this al-Karaj was about
halfway between modern Golpayegan and Hamadan. Barthold, Historical Geography, 180;
Le Strange, Lands, 197; Ibn Hawqal, 262, Hudüd, 132, 201; E1?, s.v. (al-)Karadj.

159 On this politically active family that played a role in the initial ‘Abbasid movement, the
civil war between al-Amin and al-Ma'mün, and the campaign against Babak, see the article
by J. E. Bencheikh in £72, s.v. al-Kasim b. Īsā b. Idris, Abū Dulaf.

160 The MS reading is ambiguous. Other sources give both Fā'ig and Fatik.

273

274

108 THE GEOGRAPHY

kinsmen. Four cantons are attached to (al-Karaj): the two Fā'igs, Jabalq;!6! and
Barqrüdh.!6? A]-Karaj is situated amid four mountains covered with estates,
fields, villages, perennial rivers, and flowing springs. The inhabitants are non-
Arabs, except for the family of ‘Isa b. Idris al-‘Ijli and other Arabs who have
joined them. The land tax from al-Karaj was 3.4 million dirhams. This included
one million dirhams from the cantons and a 400,000 dirham tax on beverages.
This decreased in the days of al-Wathiq to 3.3 million dirhams.

Qumm and Its Dependencies
Whoever wants to go to Qumm!8? proceeds east from the city of Hamadhan
through its cantons. It is five stages from the city of Hamadhan to the city
of Qumm. The largest urban area!6^ of Qumm is called Manijan.!65 It is an
important place, said to contain a thousand lanes. There is an old Persian
fortress inside the city. Adjacent to it is an urban area called Kumundan.!66
There is a watercourse with a stream that flows between the two urban areas.
There are some arched stone bridges across it | by which one crosses from
Manijan to Kumundan. Most of the population belong to the tribe of Madhhij,
specifically to the Ash‘aris.!6” There are also people of non-Arab ancestry as
well as a group of clients who report that they were freedmen of 'Abdallah b.
al-‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib. Qumm has two canals: one, in the upper part of
the city, is known as Ra’s al-Mur, and the other, in the lower city, is called Fūrūz.
Both have water from springs made to flow through excavated channels. Qumm
is situated in a broad plain that stretches about ten farsakhs to the mountains.
Among them is a mountain known as Rustaq Sardàb and a mountain known

161 Cf. Yaqut, Mujam al-buldan, 2:2-3, s.v. Jabalq.

162 Barqrüdh is also attested as Barq al-Rüdh.

163 On the city of Qumm (Modern Persian Qom) see the article by J. Calmard in £7°, s.v. Kum.

164 Text: madinat Qumm al-kubra. Al-Ya'qübi treats Qumm as a single municipality with
multiple components; indeed, the sources speak of Qumm as consisting of many villages,
seven of which were surrounded by a defensive wall. Madina therefore has been translated
in this case as “urban area” (“village” might be another possibility) to avoid confusing
repetitions of the term “city.”

165 Manijan the principal settlement, was one of the seven original villages. See the article by
j. Calmard cited in note 163.

166 Also vocalized as Kumandan.

167 As the Ash‘aris (members of the South Arabian tribe of al-Ash'ar b. Udad) were a sister
tribe to the Madhhij (descended from Malik b. Udad), the text, which normally would
mean, “belong to the tribe of Madhhij, specifically to the subgroup group of Ash‘ar,” should
be taken in an extended sense: "belong to the tribe of Madhhij, specifically to the related
group of Ash'ar" See Wüstenfeld, Genealogische Tabellen, 7.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 109

as al-Mallaha. Qumm has twelve cantons: Sitara, Karizman, al-Farahan, Warah,
Tīras,!6% Kūrdur, Wardirah, Sardāb, Barawistan, Siraha,!6? Qaris, and Hindijan.
During summer, the people of the city drink mostly from wells. Roads fan out
from Qumm to al-Rayy, Isfahan, al-Karaj, and Hamadhan. Its land tax is 4.5
million dirhams.

Isfahan (Isbahan)
From Qumm to Isfahan”? is sixty farsakhs, which equals six stages. Isfahan
comprises two urban areas, one of which is called Jayy and the other al-Yahudiy-
ya. The population is mixed: a few are Arabs, but most are Persians (descended
from) aristocratic dihgāns. There are Arabs there who immigrated from Kufa
and Basra, of the tribes of Thaqif, Tamim, Banū Dabba, Khuza‘a, Banu Hanifa,
Banū ‘Abd al-Qays, and others. It is said that Salman al-Farisi!”1—may God's
mercy be upon him—was a native of Isfahan from a village called Jayyan—
this is what the people of Isfahan have handed down among themselves. The
inhabitants of Isfahan have plenty of water from streams and springs that flow
towards al-Ahwaz from Isfahan via Tustar, Manadhir al-Kubra, and then to the
city of al-Ahwaz. Isfahan was conquered | in the year 23.!” Its land tax amounts
to ten million dirhams. It has the following cantons: Jayy, where the city is
located; Bara'àn, inhabited exclusively by dihgqans; Burkhar, where a group of
dihqans also live; Ruwaydasht, which is the border between Isfahan and a dis-
trict of Fars known as Yazd; al-Baran; Mirabin; al-Qamidan, which is inhabited
by Kurds and a mixture of non-Arabs who are not of noble descent like the
others and out of which came the Khurramiyya,”3 and which is the border
between the provinces of Isbahan and al-Ahwaz; Fahman, also inhabited by

168 Possibly to be read Tabrish.

169 The reading is uncertain; restored by the editor on the basis of Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadhani,
Kitab al-Buldān, 265.

170 On Isfahan, see the article by A. K. S. Lambton and J. Sourdel-Thomine in £1’, s.v. Isfahan.

171 On Salman al-Farisi ("Salman the Persian,” also known as Salman Pak, “Salman the Pure"),
a Companion of the Prophet, often regarded as the first Persian convert to Islam, see the
article by G. Levi Della Vida in £7’, s.v. Salman al-Fārisī.

172 23A.H. = November 19, 643 - November 6, 644; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2380.

173 The Arabic historians use Khuramiyya to designate a variety of sects with roots in the
doctrines of the late 5th-century Iranian religious figure Mazdak. By ‘Abbasid times, there
were a variety of such groups, anti-Arab and anti-Islamic in orientation, said to believe
in dualism, transmigration, and continued prophecy. They were frequently accused of
believing in free love and community of property. See the article by W. Madelung in £7?,
s.v. Khurramiyya, and the extensive treatment in P. Crone, The Nativist Prophets of Early
Islamic Iran.

275

276

110 THE GEOGRAPHY

Kurds and Khurramiyya; Faridin, inhabited by lower-class non-Arabs whom the
noble Persians of Isfahan call the Luyabah;!4 al-Radmila;!”> the twin districts
of Sardqasan and Jarmqasan, inhabited by noble dihqans and some Arabs from
Yemen of the tribe of Hamdan, which form the border between the province
of Isfahan and Qumm; Ardistan, inhabited by the grandest of the dihqans and
which is said to have been the place where Kisra Anūshirawān!”6 was born; and
al-Taymara, which consists of two cantons inhabited by Arabs of the Banū Hilal
and various divisions of the Qays and which forms the boundary between the
province of Isfahan and al-Karaj.

Al-Rayy
If one’s destination is al-Rayy,"? one leaves the city of al-Dinawar for Qazwin,
and then one travels three stages from Qazwin along the main highway—
al-Rayy is located on the Khurasan highway. The city of al-Rayy is named
al-Muhammadiyya. It was given that name because al-Mahdi!’® stayed there
during the caliphate of al-Mansur, when he was sent to Khurasan to fight ‘Abd
al-Jabbar b. ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Azdi, and built up the city. Al-Rashid was born
there, | for al-Mahdi spent several years there and constructed a marvelous
building there. The wives of notables among its people nursed al-Rashid. The
people of al-Rayy are a mixture of Persians and a few Arabs. It was conquered by
Qaraza b. Ka‘b al-Ansari, during the caliphate of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab, in the year
23.179 The people obtain water from numerous springs and large watercourses.
One large watercourse comes from the country of al-Daylam and is called the
Nahr Mūsā. Because of the country's abundant water, its fruits, gardens, and
trees are numerous. It has several cantons and districts. The country estates
of Ishaq b. Yahya b. Mu‘adh and Abū ‘Abbad Thabit b. Yahya, al-Ma’mun’s
secretary, are there; both were natives of Rayy. Its land tax amounts to ten
million dirhams.

174 The vocalization and meaning of the word, apparently Persian, are unknown.

175 The correct reading and vocalization are unknown.

176 The Sasanian ruler Kisrā Anüshirawan (Khusraw Anūshirwān) ruled from 591 to 628 C.E.

177 On the city of al-Rayy, whose ruins are located about 5 miles south-southeast of modern
Tehran, see the article by V. Minorsky in E12, s.v. al-Rayy; Barthold, Historical Geography,
121 ff.

178 The future third ‘Abbasid caliph, whose given name was Muhammad. He was made
governor of al-Rayy in 141/758—759.

179 23A.H. = November 19, 643 - November 6, 644; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2380.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 111

Qumis

From al-Rayy to Qumis!®° via the main highway and great road is twelve stages,
some in inhabited areas and some in the desert. Oūmis is a large, important
country. The name of the main town is al-Damaghan,!*! which is the first of the
towns of Khurāsān. It was conquered by ‘Abdallah b. ‘Amir b. Kurayz during the
caliphate of Uthmān b. ‘Affan, in the year 30.18? The people are Persians, and
they are the most skillful of people in knowing how to make the fine woolen
apparel known as Qumisiyya. Its land tax, amounting to 1.5 million dirhams, is
included as part of the revenue of Khurasan. As for the territory which borders
the Caspian Sea (Bahr al-Daylam) in Khurasan, (it extends) from al-Rayy to
Tabaristan.183 The main city of Tabaristan is Sariya,!8* which is seven stages
from al-Rayy.

Tabaristàn
(From Sāriya) to the second city of Tabaristan, which is called Āmul,5 is two
stages. The city of Amul is on the Caspian Sea (Bahr al-Daylam). Tabaristàn
is a separate country with an important kingdom. Its king is still known as the
Ispahbadh.!6 It is the country of al-Māzyār,!87 who used to write to | the caliphs
al-Ma'mun and al-Mu'tasim: “From the Jil-Jilan, Ispahbadh of Khurasan, al-
Mazyar Muhammad b. Qarin, the supporter (muwālī) of the Commander of the
Faithful"—he did not say "client (mawla) of the Commander of the Faithful.”
Tabaristàn is a country with many fortresses and protected by ravines. The

180 On Oūmis, see the article by E. E. Bosworth in £1’, s.v. Kümis; Barthold, Historical Geogra-
phy, 112—120.

181 On Dāmaghān (modern Damghan), some 344km east of Tehran, see the article by D.
N. Wilber in £12, s.v. Dāmghān.

182 30A.H. = September 4, 650 — August 23, 651; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2192.

183 Modern Mazandaran; article in EI”, s.v. Tabaristān; Barthold, Historical Geography, 230—
242.

184 Modern Sari; see the article by C. E. Bosworth in £7’, s.v. Sari; Barthold, Historical Geogra-
phy, 238.

185 Amul grew in importance after it became the province's administrative center under Arab
rule; see the article by L. Lockhart in £7’, s.v. Amul; Barthold, Historical Geography, 238 f.

186 Written in Arabic as isbahbadh. The title (“chief of the army") and had roots as far back
as Achaemenid Iran. The rulers of Tabarisan maintained the title down to the Mongol
invasions. See the article by C. E. Bosworth in £7’, s.v. Ispahbadh.

187 Onthe career of Mazyar b. Qarin, who maintained his quasi-autonomous power in Tabari-
stan by converting to Islam, whereupon he received the name of Muhammad b. Qarin, but
revolted and was flogged to death during the caliphate of al-Mu‘tasim, see the article by
M. Rekaya in £1’, s.v. Mazyar; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:582—583; al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 31268 ff.

277

112 THE GEOGRAPHY

inhabitants are noble Persians, descendants of their kings, and they are most
handsome people. It is said that Kisra Yazdajird left his slave girls there, and the
people of Tabaristan, being descended from them, inherited their good looks.
The land tax of the country is four million dirhams. The textiles and apparel
known as al-tabariyya are made there.

Jurjan

From al-Rayy to Jurjān!88 is seven stages. The city of Jurjān is located on the
River of al-Daylam.!8? Saīd b. Uthmān conquered the country of Jurjan during
the reign of Mu‘awiya. Then it revolted, and the people apostatized from Islam
until Yazid b. al-Muhallab conquered it again during the reign of Sulayman b.
‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan. The land tax from the country is ten million dirhams.
The inhabitants work rare woods such as khalanj!?? and other kinds, as well as
various kinds of silk garments. Large Bactrian!?! camels are found there. There
are many date palms in the land of Jurjan.

Tus
Adjoining these countries bordering the Caspian Sea, and among the rural
districts of Nishapür and its dependencies, is Tus,!9* which is two stages from
Nīshāpūr. There are Arabs from Tayyi' and other tribes in Tus, but most of the
people are Persians. The tomb of the Commander of the Faithful al-Rashid is
there. It was also there that al-Ridā ‘Ali b. Musa b. Ja‘far b. Muhammad b. ‘Alt b.
al-Husayn??? passed away (peace be upon them). The main urban area of Tus is
called Nūgān. The land tax of the country is included with that of Nīshāpūr.!?+

188 On the province of Jurjan (Persian Gurgan), at the southeastern corner of the Caspian Sea,
see the article by R. Hartmann in £7’, s.v. Gurgān; Barthold, Historical Geography, 15-117.

189 Also known as the Jurjan (Gurgan) River.

190 A scented wood, variously identified; see V. Mozaffarian, A Dictionary of Iranian Plant
Names, 210.

191 Text: bakhati, probably to be understood as a plural of bukhti, the normal word for the
Bactrian camel. See Dozy, Supplément, 1:54.

192 OnTus,see the article by V. Minorsky and C. E. Bosworth in E15, s.v. Tus; Barthold, Historical
Geography, 102-105.

193 ‘Ali b. Musa, surnamed al-Rida, was the eighth Imam of the Twelver Shi'a. In 201/816,
the caliph al-Ma'mün named him heir to the caliphate, but the move caused a revolt in
Baghdad. In 203/818, ‘Ali al-Ridà died in Tis after a brief illness. The Shīite version of the
story says that he was poisoned (cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:551). See the article by Tamima
Bayhom-Daou in £1? s.v. ‘Ali al-Ridā.

194 Al-Ya‘qubi uses the Arabic spelling Naysabür throughout. The translation uses the more
common Persian form of the name.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 113

From Tus to Nasa,!%° another rural district of Nīshāpūr, is two stages. | From
Nasa to Baward!?6 is two stages. From Nasa to Khwarazm!?" is eight stages in
an easterly direction. Khwarazm is at the end of the Oxus River (Nahr Balkh)
at a place where the waters of the Oxus empty into the Caspian Sea (Bahr al-
Daylam).!?8 It is a vast territory that Salm b. Ziyad b. Abihi!®? conquered in the
time of Yazid b. Mu'awiya. Furs and all sorts of pelts are processed there: sable,
fox, ermine, lynx, and squirrel. These rural districts on this side of the Oxus
form part of Khurasan. The Oxus rises from springs amid a mountain range; it
is ten stages from its mouth to the city of Balkh.

Nishapur
From Qumis to the city of Nishapur?°° via the Great Highway is nine stages.
Nishapür is a vast country with many rural districts, among them: al-Taba-
sayn,2?! Quhistan, Nasa, Biward,?°? Abrashahr, Jam, Bakharz, Tus (the main
urban area of which is called Nüqan?93), Zuzan,?9^ and Isfara'in?95 (on the high-
way to Jurjan). ‘Abdallah b. ‘Amir b. Kurayz conquered the country during the
caliphate of Uthmān in the year 30.2 Its inhabitants are a mixture of Arabs

195 On Nasā, see the article by V. Minorsky and C. E. Bosworth in E12, s.v. Nasa, Nisa; Barthold,
Historical Geography, 89.

196 Abiward in other sources; see the article by V. Minorsky in £1’, s.v. Abiward; Barthold,
Historical Geography, 89.

197 On Khwārazm, see the article by C. E. Bosworth in £1’, s.v. Khwarazm.

198 Here, Nahr Balkh must mean the Oxus, and this seems to be the name al-Ya'qübi consis-
tently uses for this river. According to Barthold, Historical Geography, n, the actual “river of
Balkh,” the Balkh Ab (Baktros) apparently connected with the Oxus (Ami Darya) in clas-
sical times but not in the time of the Arab geographers, when Balkh was separated from
the Oxus by a journey of two days (ibid., 12). This passage implies that in al-Ya*gūbfs time
the Oxus emptied into the Caspian, rather than into the Aral Sea, as it does today. There
is abundant evidence for shifts in the channel of the Oxus, but the chronology remains
unclear. See the article by B. Spuler in E72, s.v. Āmū Darya.

199 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:300.

200 Nīshāpūr together with Marw, Herat, and Balkh, were the four great cities of Khurasan. See
the article by E. Honigmann and C. E. Bosworth in E7?, s.v. Nīshāpūr; Barthold, Historical
Geography, 95-103; Hudūd, 102.

201 Hudiid, 103.

202 Or Baward/Bavard; Hudūd, 103.

203 Or Nawgqan; Hudūd, 103.

204 One of the districts on the border of Nishapür mentioned by Hudūd, 103.

205 Or Isfarāyīn; see the article by C. E. Bosworth in EI”, s.v. Isfarayin; Barthold, Historical
Geography, 114; Hudid, 102: Siparayin.

206 30A.H. = September 4, 650 — August 23, 651; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2392.

278

279

114 THE GEOGRAPHY

and Persians. Its water comes from springs and streams. Its land tax amounts
to four million dirhams, which is included as part of the land tax of Khurasan.
They manufacture [cotton and silk textiles in all the districts?97]. ‘Abdallah
b. Tahir resided in the city of Nīshāpūr and did not leave it for Marw as the
governors had formerly done.?98 He built a marvelous structure there, the Sha-
dhiyakh;?9? then he built the Tower.?!? A member of the Tahirid family told me
that it is ten stages from Nīshāpūr to Marw; ten stages from Nishapur to Herat;
ten stages from Nīshāpūr to Jurjan; ten stages from Nishapür to al-Damaghan; |
and six stages from Nīshāpūr to Sarakhs via the main highway and great road.
The first stage is Qasr al-Rih, called Dizbad in Persian,2" then Khaksar, and then
Mazduran, where the Tin Pass is.?!? Sarakhs??? is an important region. Its main
city, which is very large, is situated in a sand desert; it has a mixed population.
‘Abdallah b. Khazim al-Sulami, at the time under the command of ‘Abdallah
b. ‘Amir b. Kurayz, conquered it during the caliphate of Uthmān. The inhab-
itants drink well water; there is no stream or spring. It has a group of people
from [...].21% Its land tax amounts to one million dirhams, which is included
with the land tax of Khurasan.

Marw
From Sarakhs to Marw? via the main road is six stages, the first of which
is Ushturmaghak; then Talastana; then al-Dandànqan; then Kanükird, where
the clan of ‘Ali b. Hisham b. Farrakhusraw?!6 has estates. These stations are
situated in the open desert, and each of them has a fortress in which the
people take refuge from the Turks, who sometimes attack some of these places.

207 Added in the editor's notes on the basis of a parallel text in Istakhri, 255.

208 ‘Abdallah b. Tahir was governor of Khurāsān in 213-230/828—845; see the article by C. Ed-
mond Bosworth in E13, s.v. ‘Abdallah b. Tahir.

209 On the suburb named for this monument, see Barthold, Historical Geography, 99.

210 Arabic manar ("lighthouse" or “minaret”), probably a minaret for the principal mosque;
see Barthold, Historical Geography, 98.

211 Both the Persian and Arabic mean "Castle of the Wind."

212 Arabic Aqabat Tin (Clay Pass).

213 On Sarakhs, see the article by C. E. Bosworth in £1’, s.v. Sarakhs.

214 There is a lacuna in the Ms.

215 On Marw (Merv; Mary), see the article by C. E. Bosworth in £1?, s.v. Marw al-Rüdh;
Barthold, Historical Geography, 35-46.

216 This appears to be ‘Ali b. Hisham al-Marwazi, who was governor of Baghdad during the
reign of al-Ma'mün, but was executed in 217/832; cf. al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:1108 ff.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 115

Then one comes to Marw, the most important district in Khurasan. Hatim
b. al-Numān al-Bāhilī, who was under the command of ‘Abdallah b. 'Amir,
conquered it during the caliphate of Uthmān. It is said that al-Ahnaf b. Qays
participated in its conquest, and that was in the year 31.7!” Its inhabitants are
nobles (descended) from the Persian dihgāns. It also has some Arab tribesmen
from the Azd, Tamim, and other tribes. It used to be the residence of the
governors of Khurasan. The first who resided there was al-Ma'mun, and then
whoever governed Khurasan subsequently, until ‘Abdallah b. Tahir took up
residence in Nīshāpūr. The inhabitants of Marw get water from flowing springs
and streams. Its land tax is included with that of Khurasan. The famous fine
apparel known as Khurasan clothing is made there. | Among its rural districts
are Zargq,”!8 Aram Kaylabaq, Sawsaqan,”!9 and Jarāra. From Marw to Amul2?°
is six stages, the first of which is Kushmahan,??! whence come Kushmahani
raisins. All the stages are in the desert and are fortified posts. These are the
rural districts of Khurasan along the main road. The inhabitants of Amul drink
well water, except in areas near the Oxus (Jayhūn), which is (also known as)
the Balkh River (Nahr Balkh). As for the areas to the right of the main road,
in the direction of the Indian Ocean, they extend for ten stages in an easterly
direction from Nīshāpūr to Herat. Herat is one of the most prosperous regions
of Khurasan and has the most handsome people. Al-Ahnaf b. Qays conquered
it during the caliphate of Uthmān. Its inhabitants are Persian nobles and some
Arabs. Its water comes from springs and streams. Its land tax is included in the
land tax of Khurasan.

Būshanj
From Herat to Būshanj is one stage.22? Bushanj is the homeland of Tahir b. al-
Husayn b. Mus'ab.22? Aws b. Tha‘laba al-Taymi and al-Ahnaf b. Qays, both of

217 31A.H. = August 24, 651 — August 11, 652; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2393-194.

218 Barthold, Historical Geography, 41; Hudūd, 105.

219 Sūsanagān in Hudūd, 105.

220 A town near an important ford across the Oxus (now known as Āmūyā or Charjūy), not to
be confused with the city in Tabaristan mentioned earlier: see al-Maqdisi, 291-292; Yaqüt,
Mu'jam al-buldan, 1:69; and the article by L. Lockhart, M. Streck, and A. Bennigsen in EI’,
s.v Amul.

221 Cf. Hudūd, 105.

222 On the town of Büshanj, about a day's journey from Herat, see the article by W. Barthold
and B. Spuler in EI”, s.v. Büshandj ; Barthold, Historical Geography, 60.

223 Tahir b. al-Husayn was the general who in 198/813 took Baghdad for al-Ma'mün in the
civil war between al-Amin and al-Ma'mün. Al-Ma'mün afterward appointed him to various

280

281

116 THE GEOGRAPHY

whom were under the command of ‘Abdallah b. Amir, conquered it during the
caliphate of ‘Uthman.?4 Its inhabitants are a mix of non-Arabs;??5 there are
only a few Arabs there.

Badghis
From Būshanj to Badghis??¢ is three stages. Badghis was conquered by ‘Abd al-
Rahman b. Samura in the days of Mu‘awiya b. Abi Sufyan.?27

Sijistan
From Bushanj to Sijistàn228 is five, some say seven, stages | by the desert
route.?29 Sijistan is an important country. The chief city is Bust,2?? where Man
b. Za'ida al-Shaybānī?3! resided during the caliphate of Abū Ja‘far al-Mansur.
Its inhabitants are Persians, but most of them say that they are descended
from the Himyarites of Yemen. It has about the same number of rural dis-
tricts as Khurasan, or more, but they are isolated and adjacent to the coun-
tries of Sind and Hind. It used to be comparable to Khurasan and was its peer.
Among its rural districts are Bust; Juwayn;?32 Rukhkhaj;?33 Khushshak; Bālis;234

governorships and ultimately to the governorship of Khurasan, where he died in 207/822.
His descendants, the Tahirids, continued to rule the province until 259/873. See the article
by C. E. Bosworth in E12, s.v. Tahir b. al-Husayn.

224 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2392-193.

225 Arabic akhlat min al-‘ajam, perhaps to distinguish them from the “noble Persians” men-
tioned in other cities.

226 A mountainous rural area north of Herat between the Hari Rūd and Kūshk rivers. See
W. Barthold, Historical Geography, 47—49, and the article by Jürgen Paul in £13, s.v. Badghis.

227 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2192, 258.

228 Usually known by the later Persian form of the name, Sistan. See the article by C. E. Bos-
worth in £1’, s.v. Sistan; Barthold, Historical Geography, 64—72; Hudūd, no, 344—346.

229 Arabic majaba. See Dozy, Supplément, 1:230.

230 See the articles by J. Sourdel-Thomine in £1’, s.v. Bust, and by Martina Rugiadi in E13, s.v.
Bust; Barthold, Historical Geography, 70—73; Hudüd, no, 344.

231 Manb. Zida wasa military commander who served the last Umayyads, but was pardoned
by the ‘Abbasids and later sent to suppress a rebellion in Sistan. He was killed at Bust in
152/769-770. See the article by H. Kennedy in £1?, s.v. Man b. Za'ida.

232 On the crossroads town of Juwayn in Sijistān (there are at least two other towns with the
same name), see the article by R. Hartmann in £1’, s.v Djuwayn.

233 Anarea of southeastern Afghanistan around the later city of Qandahar. See the article by
C. E. Bosworth in E12, s.v al-Rukhkhadj; ; Barthold, Historical Geography, 73—74; Hudud, 11.

234 MS ?-Lm-r, corrected to Balis by Wiet on the basis of Marquart, Eranshahr, 255; Bālis was
an area in Baluchistan around Isfanjay and Sibi; see Barthold, Historical Geography, 75;
Hudid, 11.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 117

Khwash;?35 Great Zaranj,??6 the capital of King Rutbīl,237 four farsakhs in cir-
cumference, surrounded by a trench, with five gates, and with a river called
al-Hindmand?* flowing through the middle of it, the place to which the Tubba‘
of Yemen fled and stayed;??? Zaliq; and Sanarudh. Sijistan has the river known
as al-Hindmand, which comes from lofty mountains and flows through no
country but desert before reaching Sijistan. It?*? borders on Makrān, toward
the countries of Sind and al-Qandahar. Al-Rabr b. Ziyad al-Harithi was the first
to conquer it?! crossing 75 farsakhs of desert to reach Zaranj, the capital where
the kings resided, during the caliphate of Uthmān. He did not go beyond the
place known as al-Qarnin. Then ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Samura b. Habib b. ‘Abd
Shams came there. Sijistan was in revolt until the caliphate of Mu'awiya; then
‘Abd al-Rahman b. Samura was appointed governor; he conquered the area and
advanced to Kirman and conquered it. Then he returned to Sijistan and reached
a settlement with its people. Then the province revolted again, until al-Rabi‘ b.
Ziyad al-Hārithī went there. Then it revolted yet again, until Ubaydallāh b. Abi
Bakra became governor. |

The Governors of Sijistan
Al-Rabi‘ b. Ziyad al-Harithi, on behalf of ‘Abdallah b. ‘Amir b. Kurayz, during
the caliphate of Uthmān.
Rib’ b. Kas al-‘Anbari al-Kufi, on behalf of ‘Abdallah b. ‘Abbas, during the
caliphate of the Commander of the Faithful ‘Ali b. Abi Talib— God's blessings
be upon him.

235 Hudüd,no (Khuvash).

236 On Zaranj (Persian Zarang), one of the main towns of Sijistan, see the article by C.
E. Bosworth in £1’, s.v. Zarang; Hudūd, 110.

237 Rutbil (perhaps to be read as Zunbil) was apparently a title held by a line of native rulers
who opposed Islamic penetration into the region. See the article by C. E. Bosworth in EI?,
s.v Zunbil.

238 Sic, for Hilmand, the river which with its tributaries drains southwest Afghanistan; on
Zaranj (Zarang) and this river, see Barthold, Historical Geography, 70; and the article by
M. E. Yapp in £7’, s.v. Hilmand (Helmand).

239 The reference is to a legend about one of the pre-Islamic kings of Yemen, rather than to
any identifiable historical event.

240 The feminine pronoun (hiya) could refer to the desert (mafaza) or to Sijistan, both of
which are feminine in Arabic, but not to the river, which is masculine in Arabic. The
language is abbreviated and hard to parse. Wiet's translation ("cette riviére est limitrophe
du Mékran du cóté du Sind et de Kandahar") violates the grammar of the Arabic and the
geography of the area.

241 See Tarikh-e Sistan, trans. Gold, 63—66, on the exploits of al-Rabī".

282

283

118 THE GEOGRAPHY

‘Abd al-Rahmān b. Samura, again?*? during the time of Mu‘awiya, and he
died there.

A]-Rabr b. Ziyad al-Harithi again, on behalf of Ziyad, in the time of Mu'awiya.

‘Ubaydallah b. Abi Bakra, on behalf of Ziyād, in the time of Mu‘awiya.

‘Abbad b. Ziyad, who governed Sijistan on behalf of Mu'awiya after the death
of Ziyad.

Yazid b. Ziyad, on behalf of Yazid b. Mu‘awiya.

Talha b. ‘Abdallah b. Khalaf al-Khuza‘l, on behalf of Salm b. Ziyad— Talha b.
‘Abdallah died in Sijistan.

‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. ‘Abdallah b. ‘Amir, on behalf of al-Qub&', i.e., al-Harith b.
‘Abdallah al-Makhzumi, Ibn al-Zubayr's governor of Basra; when Mus‘ab b. al-
Zubayr came to Iraq as governor on behalf of his brother, he confirmed 'Abd
al-‘Aziz over Sijistan, as he was a brave horseman.

"Abdallah b. ‘Adi b. Haritha b. Rabi‘a b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. ‘Abd Shams, on behalf
of ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan.

Umayya b. ‘Abdallah b. Khalid b. Asid b. Abi 1-‘Is b. Umayya, on behalf of ‘Abd
al-Malik b. Marwan.

Then ‘Abdallah b. Umayya b. ‘Abdallah b. Khalid b. Asid, on behalf of his
father.

‘Ubaydallah b. Abi Bakra, on behalf of al-Hajjaj in the time of ‘Abd al-Malik b.
Marwan; Ubaydallāh b. Abi Bakra died in Sijistan, and when he was near death
he appointed his son Abū Bardha‘a to succeed him.

Then al-Hajjaj wrote to al-Muhallab b. Abi Sufra to assume the governorship
of Sijistan along with Khurasan, and al-Muhallab appointed Waki‘ b. Bakr b.
Wail al-Azdi over Sijistan.

Then al-Hajjaj appointed | ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad b. al-Ash‘ath al-
Kindi—people advised him not to do so, but he refused to accept their advice.
‘Abd al-Rahman was disobedient. He revolted against al-Hajjaj, marched
against him, and waged war on him, but he returned to Sijistan in defeat. Al-
Hajjaj wrote to Rutbil, king of Sijistan, to seize "Abd al-Rahmān and send him
back to him; Rutbil captured him, fettered him, and sent him along with al-
Hajjaj's envoys. ‘Abd al-Rahman, however, threw himself from a roof on which
he was, broke his neck, and died in Rukhkhaj. A peace was concluded between
al-Hajjaj and Rutbil, the King of Sijistan.

Al-Hajjaj appointed Umāra b. Tamim al-Lakhmi, but Rutbil disliked him, so
al-Hajjaj deposed him.

242 "Again" (aydan) refers to ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Samura's having conquered territory in Sijistan
during the caliphate of Uthmān; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:92, 258.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 119

Al-Hajjaj appointed ‘Abd al-Rahmān b. Sulaym al-Kinānī, but deposed him
after a year; then he appointed Misma‘ b. Malik b. Misma' al-Shaybānī, who died
in Sijistan after deputizing his nephew, Muhammad b. Shayban b. Malik.

Al-Hajjaj appointed al-Ashhab b. Bishr al-Kalbi, one of the people of Khura-
san.

Then al-Hajjaj joined Sijistan to Khurasan under Qutayba b. Muslim al-
Bāhilī, who dispatched his brother ‘Amr b. Muslim; but al-Hajjaj then wrote
him to go to Sijistān in person, so he went in the year 92,?*? in the days of al-
Walid b. ‘Abd al-Malik.

Qutayba left Sijistan and deputized ‘Abd Rabbihi b. ‘Abdallah b. Umayr al-
Laythi over it; but after ‘Abd Rabbihi had been there for a while, Qutayba heard
something about ‘Abd Rabbihi that displeased him. He therefore sent Mani‘ b.
Mu ‘awiya b. Farwa al-Mingarī to take his place and ordered him to torture ‘Abd
Rabbihi until he gave up what he had acquired; but Mant did not do so, and
Qutayba therefore deposed Mani‘ b. Farwa and appointed al-Nu‘man b. ‘Awf
al-Yashkurī, who tortured ‘Abd Rabbihi b. ‘Abdallah so severely that he died.

Sulayman b. ‘Abd al-Malik made Yazid b. al-Muhallab b. Abi Sufra gov-
ernor of Iraq, and Yazid appointed his brother Mudrik b. al-Muhallab over
Sijistan; however, Rutbil would not give him anything (in tribute), so Yazid b.
al-Muhallab deposed Mudrik his brother and made his son Mu'awiya | b. Yazid
b. al-Muhallab governor.

Then ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-Aziz became ruler and appointed ‘Adi b. Artat al-
Fazari governor of Iraq. ‘Adi appointed al-Jarrah b. ‘Abdallah al-Hakami gov-
ernor of Khurasan, joining Sijistan to it; then he deposed him and appointed
‘Abd al-Rahman b. Nu‘aym al-Ghàmidi—al-Sari b. ‘Abdallah b. ‘Asim b. Misma‘
was in charge of Sijistan at the time, and ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz confirmed him.

Then Yazid b. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan became ruler. He made Ibn Hubayra
al-Fazari governor of Iraq, and Ibn Hubayra appointed al-Qa‘qa‘ b. Suwayd b.

‘Abd al-Rahman b. Uways b. Bujayr b. Uways al-Minqan of Kufa over Sijistan.
Then Ibn Hubayra deposed al-Qa'qa' and appointed al-Sayyal b. al-Mundhir
b. al-Nu‘man al-Shaybani. During all these years Rutbil was resisting them.
Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan became ruler and made Khalid b. ‘Abdal-
lah al-Qasri governor of Iraq. Khalid appointed Yazid b. al-Ghurayf al-Hamdani
of Jordan over Sijistan, but Rutbil resisted him. Then Khalid b. ‘Abdallah al-
Qasri deposed Yazid b. al-Ghurayf and appointed al-Asfah b. ‘Abdallah al-
Kalbi over Sijistan; he remained in Sijistan until Khalid deposed him and
appointed ‘Abdallah b. Abi Burda b. Abi Musa al-Ash‘ari. The latter remained

243 92A.H. = October 29, 710 - October 18, 7n.

284

285

120 THE GEOGRAPHY

governor until Khalid b. ‘Abdallah was deposed and Yusuf b. ‘Umar al-Thagafī
was appointed (governor of Iraq).

When Yusuf b. ‘Umar became governor of Iraq for Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik,
he appointed Ibrahim b. ‘Asim al-‘Uqayli over Sijistàn. He went to Sijistān and
sent ‘Abdallah b. Abi Burda back in chains to Yusuf.

Then Yazid b. al-Walid b. ‘Abd al-Malik became ruler and made Mansür b.
Jumhūr governor of Iraq, and Mansür appointed Yazid b. Izzān al-Kalbī over
Sijistan.

Then ‘Abdallah b. ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-Aziz became governor of Iraq and ap-
pointed Harb b. Qatan b. al-Mukhārig al-Hilālī over Sijistan.

Then ‘Abdallah | b. Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz dispatched Ibn Said b. Umar
b. Yahya b. al-‘As al-A‘war, but the people of Sijistan expelled him from the
country. Bujayr b. al-Salhab of the Bakr b. Wa'il had forged a document in the
name of ‘Abdallah b. ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz that stirred up animosity between
the tribes of Bakr and Tamim.

Yazid b. ‘Umar b. Hubayra al-Fazari became governor of Iraq and dispatched
‘Amir b. Dubara al-Murri to Sijistan, but he never arrived there. The dynasty
of the Banü Hashim2*4 was established, and Abū Muslim sent Malik b. al-
Haytham al-Khuzāī to Sijistan. He said, "People of Sijistan, there will be war
between you and us until you turn over to us the Syrians who are with you."
They said, “We will pay ransom for them,” and they ransomed them for a million
dirhams. The Syrians expelled (Malik) from Sijistān.2*5

Then Abt Muslim sent ‘Umar b. al-‘Abbas b. Umayr b. ‘Utarid b. Hajib b.
Zurara, whom he held in high esteem, to rule Sijistan. The people of Sijistan
killed his brother Ibrahim b. al-‘Abbas, and war broke out between them. Abu
Muslim dispatched Abū l-Najm ‘Imran b. Ismail b. ‘Imran to ‘Umar, telling him,
“Join ‘Umar b. al-‘Abbas; if he has been killed, then you take over as commander
of the country"

Then Abū Jafar al-Mansur made Ibrahim b. Humayd al-Marwarrūdhī gover-
nor. Next, al-Mansur deposed him and made Ma‘n b. Za'ida b. Matar b. Sharik
al-Shaybani governor. He stayed at Bust and fought the rebels. Ma‘n governed
badly. The people suffered all sorts of tribulations from him, so some of them
concealed their swords inside bundles of reeds, jumped on him, and killed him.

244 Thatis, the ‘Abbasid dynasty, which traced its descent from the Prophet's uncle, al-‘Abbas
b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib b. Hashim.

245 Tarīkh-i Sistan, trans. Gold, 107, gives the ransom as a million dirhams and adds that the
Syrian commander, al-Haytham b. ‘Abdallah, and a thousand of his horsemen were then
given safe passage out of the province.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 121

The one who killed him was a man from Tag, one of the cantons of Zaranj. This
was in the year 156.246

Yazid b. Mazyad b. Za'ida continued to fight the dissidents, and Abū Jafar
dispatched Tamim b. ‘Amr of the Banü Taymallah b. Tha‘laba to assist Yazid
b. Mazyad. He went to the country and sent back some of the dissidents to
Abu Ja'far. Yazid b. Mazyad returned to Iraq. Then Abū Ja‘far deposed Tamim b.
‘Amr and made ‘Ubaydallah b. al-‘Ala of the tribe of Bakr b. Wa'il | governor of
Sijistan. Abu Ja‘far died while he was governor. Sijistan was then annexed to the
governors of Khurasan, who appointed men to govern it on their behalf. This
was because the Kharijite rebels?^? who had become numerous, had gained
control of it. The land tax of Sijistan amounted to ten million dirhams, which
was spent on its army, the security forces, and the border posts.

Kirman
Kirmān*šis to the right?*9 of Sijistan, opposite to al-Juzjan.2°° The main city of
Kirman is al-Sīrajān,?*! a well-fortified, important city whose people are brave
and heroic. It has several towns and fortresses: Bimand, Khannāb, Kühistan,
Karistan, Maghūn,**2 Tamaskan, Sarwistan, and the fortresses of Bamm,2*3
Manūjān, and Narmashir.?*4 The country is vast and grand, but has little water.
There are many palm trees there in a city called Jīrubt.?*5 There is a route to
Sind from Jirubt via al-Rataq, al-Dihqan, and thence to al-Bul and al-Fahraj,256
which the natives call Fahrah. It is the last town in the province of Kirman, and
the ruler of Makran claims that it is one of his dependencies. From there one

246 156A.H. = December 2, 772 — November 20, 773.

247 Arabic shurat, (literally, "sellers") a term applied to the Kharijites, who claimed to have
"sold" their lives to God in exchange for Paradise, although the rebellions in Sistàn at this
time involved many other groups as well; see Ta’rikh-e Sistan, trans. Gold, 113, 118.

248 See the article by A. K. S. Lambton in EP, s.v. Kirmān; Barthold, Historical Geography, 133-
147.

249 That is, if one is traveling east toward Sijistān, one turns right (south) to reach Kirman,
which lies southwest of Sijistan.

250 That is, on the side of Sijistan that lies opposite to al-Jūzjān, which lies to the north of
Sijistan.

251 Or Sīrjān; see the article by C. E. Bosworth in EI, s.v. al-Siradjan; Barthold, Historical
Geography, 137-138; Hudūd, 124, 374.

252 The reading is uncertain; possibly Mahan.

253 Or Bam; Barthold, Historical Geography, 139; Hudüd, 125.

254 Barthold, Historical Geography, 137.

255 OrJīruft; Barthold, Historical Geography, 140—142.

256 See Aurel Stein, Archaeological Tour in Gedrosia; P. M. Sykes, Ten Thousand Miles.

286

287

122 THE GEOGRAPHY

goes to Khurūj, which is the first town in Makran, and thence to Fannazbur,
the capital of Makran. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Samura b. Habib b. ‘Abd Shams
conquered Kirman, making a treaty with its king for two million dirhams and
two thousand slaves in tribute. This was during the caliphate of Uthmān.

As for the countries that lie between Sarakhs and the Indian Ocean:

Al-Talaqan
From the city of Sarakhs to al-Tālagān?*7 is four stages. Al-Tālagān is situated
between two great mountains. Because of its size, it has two congregational
mosques where Friday prayers are held. It is where the felts called talaqaniyya
are made. From al-Tālagān to al-Faryab?5? is four stages. Al-Faryab is the old
city; the other urban area, called Yahūdān, is where the tax collector ('ārnil) of
al-Faryàb resides.?59

Al-Juzjan
From al-Faryab to al-Jūzjān?% is five stages. It has four towns: the capital of al-
Jūzjān, called Anbar,?®! where the governors reside; the second is called Asan?”
or Sam‘akan; the third, which is where the king of al-Jūzjān used to reside, is
called Kundarm or Qurzuman;?8? and the fourth is called Shubūrgān,?%% which

257 Not to be confused with a town of the same name near Qazvin; see the article by C.
E. Bosworth and J. L. Lee in EI, s.v. Tālaķān; Barthold, Historical Geography, 35—37; Hudūd,
107.

258 The spelling of the name varies: al-Ya‘qubi's spelling implies the reading al-Fāryāb or al-
Fariyàb; other versions include Faryab and Paryab. See the article by R. N. Frye in EI’, s.v.
Faryāb; Hudūd, 107 (Paryab).

259 Barthold, Historical Geography, 33 interprets this to mean there was a large Jewish colony
in this town and that Yahūdān (or al-Yahüdiyya) was where the “ruler” of Faryab lived.
Hudiid, 107, mentions Jahūdhān as the residence of the “malik of Gūzgānān” (which was
actually in a military camp outside the town).

260 Persian, Guzgan. See the article by R. Hartmann in EI, s.v. Djūzdjān; Barthold, Historical
Geography, 32; Hudūd, 105—196, 328—337.

261 Barthold, Historical Geography, 32; Hudūd, 107 (Anbir), 335; Ghirshman, Chionites, 26.

262 Perhaps the San mentioned in Hudūd, 107.

263 Usually Arabized as al-Jurzuwan from the Persian Gurzivan; see Le Strange, Lands, 424.
According to the Hudūd, 107, Gurzivàn was the former residence of the kings of Gūzgān,
and K.nd.rm (vocalization uncertain) was a separate borough. Barthold, Historical Geog-
raphy, 32, describes Kundarm as a village in Gurziwan and the residence of the local ruler.

264 Probably the Ushbūrgān of Hudūd, 107; the modern town of Shibargan preserves the
name.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 123

was also a principality in ancient times. Al-Jūzjān is opposite Kirmān on the
frontier of India.

Balkh
For one going east, it is four stages from al-Jūzjān to Balkh.?%5 Balkh has several
rural districts and towns. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Samura conquered it in the days
of Mu‘awiya b. Abi Sufyan. The city of Balkh is the greatest city of Khurasan.
King Tarkhan, the ruler of Khurasan, used to reside there. It is a powerful city
surrounded by two concentric walls; in olden days, it used to have three. It
has twelve gates. Balkh is said to be the center of Khurasan: Farghana is thirty
stages from it to the east; Rayy is thirty stages from it to the west; Sijistan is
thirty stages from it in the direction of the gibla; Kabul and Qandahar are
thirty stages from it; Kirman is thirty stages from it; Qashmir is thirty stages
from it; Khwarazm is thirty stages from it; | and al-Multan is thirty stages from
it.266 The villages, estates, and farms in the environs of Balkh were enclosed
by a great wall. From one gate of the wall enclosing the fields and villages
to the gate on the opposite side is twelve farsakhs. Beyond this wall, there
is no cultivation, estate, or village; there is nothing outside it but sand. This
great wall surrounding Balkh has twelve gates. A second wall, which surrounds
the suburb of the city, has four gates.%7 From the great wall to the second
wall is five farsakhs. Then there is a city wall which is one farsakh inside
the wall around the suburb. Al-Nawbahar,2®8 which was the residence of the
Barmakids,?®° is in the suburb. From one gate of the city wall to the one

265 On Balkh, the main city of ancient Bactria, now located in northern Afghanistan, see the
article by Jürgen Paul in £1°, s.v. Balkh; Barthold, Historical Geography, n5; Hudūd, 108,
337.

266 As noted by Barthold, Historical Geography, this attempt to make Balkh equidistant from
all these cities is contrived and not guite accurate.

267 Barthold, Historical Geography, 13, notes that other geographers gave the inner wall seven
gates.

268 On this important Buddhist sanctuary, see the article in EI”, s.v. Naw Bahar, as well as
Bulliet, Patricians of Nishapur. Barthold, Historical Geography, 14-15, summarizes the
information that can be gleaned from descriptions by the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim
Hsiian-tsang and by Arabic geographers.

269 The family that served the ‘Abbasid caliphs as viziers from the time of al-Saffah until their
fall under al-Rashid. The family name (Barmaki, pl. Baramika) comes from the title of the
hereditary head of the Nawbahar temple, derived from Sanskrit parmak (superior, chief).
See the article by Kevin van Bladel in £73, s.v. Barmakids.

288

289

124 THE GEOGRAPHY

opposite it is one farsakh. The city measures three miles by three miles.27% Balkh
has forty-seven pulpits (minbars) in its less important towns, including the
ones called Khulm,?” Siminjàn,??? Baghlan,?73 Sakalkand;?7* Walwālij,275 Huza,
Ārhan,276 Rawan, Tarakan, Nawdiz,277 Badhakhshān,278 and Jurm,279 which is
the easternmost city among the dependencies of Balkh in the direction of
Tibet. The first of the cities situated to the right of someone traveling east is
Andaràb;?9? then come Khast, Banjahar?! Barwan, and Ghūrawand,?82 | which
al-Fadl b. Yahya b. Khalid b. Barmak conquered in the days of al-Rashid. It
was well protected and was one of the dependencies of the Kabul-Shah. These
towns are located between the city proper of Balkh and al-Bamiyan.

Then one comes to the town of al-Bāmiyān,*%3 which is a town located
on a mountain. There was a dihqan there named Asad, which is Sher in Per-
sian.29^ He was converted to Islam by Muzahim b. Bistam in the days of al-
Mansur. Muzahim b. Bistàm married Sher's daughter to his son Muhammad

270 Thatis, Arab miles (mil, pl. amyal), consisting of 1000 ba‘ (fathoms), each of 4 canonical
ells (aLdhirā' al-shar'iyya), each of 49.875 cm. = 1.995 km (1.240 English miles).

271 An agricultural area located in a plain at the foot of a mountain between Balkh and
Tukharistan and watered by a river according to Hudüd, 108 (modern Tash Qurghan
according to Minorsky’s note, 337).

272 Identified by Barthold, Historical Geography, 22 with the fortress of Haybak in the Khulm
valley; description in Hudüd, 108-109, 338 (Simingan). Al-Ya‘qubi is apparently unfamiliar
with the antiquities located in this region.

273 Derived from a Bactrian word meaning sanctuary or temple; site of the ruins of the Surkh
Kutal temple complex. See Barthold, Historical Geography, 22 n. 62; Hudūd, 109.

274 Hudid, 109, 338.

275 Also spelled Warwaliz or Walwaliz; located by Barthold, Historical Geography, 24, in the
Aq Saray valley in the area of Qunduz; Hudüd, 109, 340.

276 Perhaps the site of a ford across the Oxus mentioned by Barthold, Turkestan, 69—70, and
n. 7.

277 Thereading is uncertain; Wiet, 102, corrected it to Nawdiz (citing Istakhri, 298); the editor
suggested Barwaz (after al-Maqdisi, 296), but the orthography makes this unlikely.

278 Barthold, Historical Geography, 24—26.

279 Wiet gives Jirm; Barthold, Historical Geography, 24 has Jurm (a town which still exists).

280 Barthold, Historical Geography, 23; Hudūd, 109, 341.

281 Perhaps Banjhir (Panjshir); see Barthold, Historical Geography, 23.

282 Or Ghürband/Ghorband; see Barthold, Historical Geography, 23; also the article by M. Ja-
mil Hanifi in Encyclopaedia Iranica, s.v. Gorband.

283 On Bāmiyān, see the article by Pierre Centlivres in £13, s.v. Bamiyan; Barthold, Historical
Geography, 23; Hudūd, 109, 341.

284 AlYa'qübi equates the Arabic name Asad (Lion) with the Persian word for lion, shér, but

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 125

b. Muzahim, whose kunya was Abu Harb. When al-Fadl b. Yahya came to
Khurasan, he dispatched one of (Muhammad's) sons, named al-Hasan, to Ghū-
rawand, and he and some other military officers conquered it. He gave him
control of al-Bamiyan and gave him the title?®> "Shēr-Bāmiyān" after that of
his grandfather. Al-Bamiyan is one of the nearest of the towns of Tukharistan.

Several springs of water arise from the mountain of al-Bamiyan. From them
a river valley runs to al-Qandahar, the distance of a month's march. One river
passes through another gorge and runs to Sijistan, the distance of a month's
march. Another river goes to Marw, a journey of about thirty days. Another
river goes to Balkh, a journey of twelve days. Another river goes to Khwarazm,
a journey of forty days. All these rivers come from the mountain of al-Bamiyan,
owing to its elevation. It has mines of copper, lead, and mercury.

Among the cities to the left of one headed east are those called al-Tirmidh,286
Sarmankān,”%7 Darazanka,?8? al-Saghaniyan (the largest of the towns to the left
of one headed east from Balkh),?®9 Kharūn, Māsand, Basaran,?9° Kabarsarā',?9!
Qubadhiyan, Yūz (which is the land of Hatim b. Dawud), Wakhsh,?9? Halā-
ward,??3 Kārbank,?9+ | Andishara', Rūstābīk?%5 (which is the principality of
al-Harith b. Asad b. Bik, after whom the horses called Bikiyya are named),
Hulbuk,?96 Munk??? (which is the boundary of the land of the Turks, which
continues on to the place known as Rasht), Kumād, and Bamir.298

the word in this case is actually a title meaning shah or king, rather than lion; see Wiet,
108, n. 1.

285 Literally “name.”

286 OnTirmidh, see the article by W. Barthold in EF, s.v. Tirmidh; Barthold, Turkestan, 71—76.

287 Sarmakan in the Ms, corrected by the editor; Barthold, Turkestan, 73 gives Sarmanjan,
Sarmanjin, or Charmangan; his note says that Sam'ani gives Jarmankan as Persian form
of the name.

288 Or Dārzangī; see Barthold, Turkestan, 74.

289 Barthold, Turkestan, 73.

290 Barthold, Turkestan, 70 n. 1.

291 The reading is uncertain; the Leiden editor suggests that it may be Kabarsharagh.

292 Barthold, Turkestan, 69.

293 Barthold, Turkestan, 69.

294 Barthold, Turkestan, 70 (Kārbang).

295 That is, "the Canton of Bik”; see Barthold, Turkestan, 69.

296 Barthold, Turkestan, 68—69.

297 Barthold, Turkestan, 69.

298 Or, in Arabic, Fāmir; in Persian Pamir; see Barthold, Turkestan, 70 n. 2.

290

291

126 THE GEOGRAPHY

The towns of Balkh lying to the north are Daryahanin (meaning Iron
Gate),29° Kishsh, Nakhshab, and Sughd, from which one goes to the principality
of Samarqand.

As for the lands which are south of the Balkh River (Oxus), in the direc-
tion of the gibla, from Balkh one goes in the direction of the gibla toward
Tukharistàn,39? toward Andarab, and toward al-Bāmiyān, which is the first of
the principalities of lower (or) western Tukharistan. It is situated on a large
mountain and has a strong fortress. From there one goes to Badhakhshan
and to the city of the Kabul-Shah, a strongly fortified, impregnable city called
Hrr?d?n.??! It is difficult to reach because before it there are rugged moun-
tains, rough paths, difficult valleys, and strong forts. There is one road to it
from Kirman and another from Sijistan. It has a powerful king who rarely pays
obeissance to anyone. However, al-Fadl b. Yahya b. Khalid b. Barmak, when he
became governor of Khurasan for al-Rashid, dispatched an army headed by
Ibrahim b. Jibrīl to the land of the Kabul-Shah in the year 176,392 and sent with
them the rulers of the principalities of Tukhāristān and the dihqans. Among
the rulers was al-Hasan Sher, king of Bamiyan. They invaded the region and
conquered the city of al-Ghūrawand, the Gorge of Ghurawand, Sārhūd, Yandil-
Ustan, | and Shah Bahar?9? where the idol the people worshipped was kept;
it was broken up and burned. Some of the princes of the lands of the Kabul-
Shah sought a safe-conduct from al-Fadl b. Yahyā—the people of the town of
Kawsan withtheirruler ^ — k.s?9^ and the people of the towns of al-Mazaran
and M___ 9° with their rulers. He granted them safe conduct, and they sent
hostages. The capital of Kabul, which is called Jurwas,??6 was conquered by
‘Abd al-Rahmān b. Samura during the caliphate of Uthmān b. ‘Affan. At the

299 Arabic Bàb al-Hadid, translating the Persian place name, which could be transcribed more
accurately as Dar-i Ahanin.

300 Siced. Leiden. Wiet, 105, emends to Badhakhshan.

301 This place is not mentioned by any other source; the orthography and vocalization are
uncertain; on Kabul, see the article by C. E. Bosworth in £1’, s.v. Kabul.

302 176A.H.= April 28, 792 - April 17, 793C.E.

303 Sārhūd, Yandil-Ustan, and Shah Bahar: the letters in the Ms are completely undotted, and
therefore the readings are conjectural. Wiet, 106, interprets the names as Sharajwadh,
Yandil-Istan, and Shah-Bahar.

304 The only letters of this six-letter word that are unambiguous are the final k and s.

305 Only the initial m of this six-letter word is unambiguous.

306 Amended without explanation by the editor from Ms hrws (?); another name known only
from al-Ya'qübi and of doubtful orthography and vocalization.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 127

present time, it is in rebellion, although merchants can enter it and export from
it the very large myrobalan®°” known as Kābulī.

Marwarrūdh

As for the countries from the city of Marw to the city of Balkh: From the city
of Marw to Marwarruüdh?9? is five stages. Marwarrūdh was conquered by al-
Ahnaf b. Qays on behalf of ‘Abdallah b. Amir b. Kurayz during the caliphate of
‘Uthman in the year 31.39 One goes from Marwarrüdh to Balkh via Zamm,3!°
which is on the Oxus River (Nahr Balkh), and Amul, which is also on the Oxus.
It is six stages between the latter and Marw. These are the towns (buldan) of
the rural districts of Khurasan in the direction of the Indian Ocean.

As for the towns on the right bank of the Oxus, there is al-Tirmidh. It is an
important city on the east bank of the Oxus, while Balkh is on the west bank.
It is a very populous, spacious city. On the same side as al-Tirmidh, also on
the Oxus, is the city of al-Quwadhiyan," similar to al-Tirmidh. From there
one goes to the principality of Hashim b. Bānījūr, which consists of Wakhsh
and Halaward,? two important, well-fortified cities. Then one goes to the city
of Shuman;??? which is adjacent to the principality of Hashim b. Bānījūr and
Hashim's family. From there one goes to al-Ahd?T5?'^ which is the city of Dāwūd
b. Abi Dawud; and thence to Washjird,?!5 a major frontier city | and extensive
territory containing seven hundred strong forts. This is because they raid the
Turks, and it is four farsakhs between them and the land of Turkistan. From al-
Tirmidh to al-Saghaniyan is four stages. Al-Saghaniyan?!6 is a large, important
country incorporating rural districts and a number of towns, including the

307 Arabic ihlīlaj, the plum-like fruit of the Terminalia chebula tree, used in various medicines.
See the article by Al Dietrich, in £1’, s.v. Haliladj.

308 Marwarrüdh (or Marw al-Rüdh), on the Murghab River, was five stages upriver from Marw
al-Shahijan (here called simply *Marw"). See the article by C. E. Bosworth in E12, s.v. Marw
al-Rüdh.

309 31AH = August 24, 651 — August 11, 652.

310 Now Kerki, according to Barthold, Historical Geography, 19.

311 On this town and district, also written as Qubadhiyan, see the article by C. E. Bosworth in
EI’, S.V. Kubadhiyan; Barthold, Turkestan, 71-72.

312 Barthold, Turkestan, 69.

313 See the article by C. E. Bosworth in EI’, s.v. Shaman; Barthold, Turkestan, 74.

314 The reading is conjectural; perhaps to be read as Afdiyan.

315 Barthold, Turkestan, 71.

316 Persian, Chaghāniyān; see the article by B. Spuler in Er”, s.v. Čaghāniyān; Barthold, Turke-
stan, 72—74.

292

293

128 THE GEOGRAPHY

rural districts of Hardan, Baharan,?!” and Kasak. From al-Saghaniyan to the
principality of al-Khuttal?!% is three stages. The capital city of al-Khuttal is
Wāshjird. It is the one we mentioned as having seven hundred forts and as
being on the Turkish frontier.

Khuttal
From al-Khuttal one goes to upper Tukharistan [sic] and the principality of
Humar Beg??? the king of Shiqinan??? and Badhakhshan. The large river comes
from there to Shiqinan. All of this is the principality of upper Tukharistan.

As for what lies beyond the Oxus River on the main road, the first town is
Farabr??! which is the frontier post for the people of Marw—that is, when the
Turks advance towards this city, the people of Marw and its environs rush to it.
From Farabr to Bakand is one stage. Bakand is an important city with a mixed
population. From Bakand to Bukhara is two stages.

Bukhara

Bukhara??? is a spacious country with a mixed population of Arabs and non-
Arabs. It has always been strongly defended. Sa‘id b. Uthmān b. ‘Affan con-
quered Bukhara in the days of Mu'awiya. Then he left it to go to Samarqand,
and its people rebelled. It remained in rebellion until Salm b. Ziyad conquered
it in the days of Yazid b. Mu‘awiya. Then it revolted and resisted | until Qutayba
b. Muslim al-Bahili arrived there in the days of al-Walid b. ‘Abd al-Malik and
conquered it. The land tax of the country—the country of Bukhara—amounts
to one million dirhams. Their dirhams are nearly copper.?2

317 Probable reading: the first letter is defective in the text.

318 On the region of Khuttal on the upper Oxus River, see the article by C. E. Bosworth in £1’,
s.v. Khuttalan or Khuttal.

319 The letters are unpointed; the reading is based on Barthold, Turkestan, 65.

320 Better known as Shughnan.

321 Also vocalized as Firabr. The town was on the opposite side of the Oxus from Amul; see
the article by B. Spuler in £1’, s.v. Firabr; Le Strange, Lands, 404, 443.

322 On Bukhara, see the article by W. Barthold and R. N. Frye in £1’, s.v. Bukhara.

323 Arabic darahimuhum shabih bi-l-nuhas: As the dirham was normally struck of silver, this
may refer to a debased coinage or to coins struck of bronze (sometimes referred to by the
related word shabah or shibh, see Lane, Lexicon, 4:1500, s.v. shabah). Wiet, 110, renders:
“Ses dirhems ressemblent a des monnaies de cuivre.”

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 129

Sogdia (al-Sughd)
From Bukhara to the country of Sogdia, for one who turns toward the gibla,3% is
seven stages. The country of Sogdia is spacious and has important, strong, well-
fortified towns including Dabusiyya,32° Kushaniyya,32° Kishsh,32” and Nasaf
(which is Nakhshab).328 These rural districts—the rural districts of Sogdia—
were conquered by Qutayba b. Muslim al-Bāhilī in the days of al-Walid b. ‘Abd
al-Malik.

Samarqand
From Kishsh to the capital city of Sogdia is four stages. Samarqand??? is one
of the most important, grandest, best defended, and most populous of cities,
and its men are the strongest, bravest, and most persevering in warfare. It is in
close proximity to the Turks. Samarqand revolted several times after it had been
conquered, owing to its fortifications, the courage of its men, and the degree of
their bravery. Qutayba b. Muslim al-Bahili conquered it in the days of al-Walid
b. ‘Abd al-Malik and made a peace settlement with its dihqans and princes. It
had a great defensive wall, which was torn down, but the Commander of the
Faithful al-Rashid rebuilt it. It has a large river which comes from the land of
the Turks; it resembles the Euphrates and is called ?asif.33? It flows through the
land of Samarqand to the country of Sogdia and thence to Usrüshana;??! going
through Ishtakhanj, Usrüshana, and Shash. From Samarqand to Usrüshana, the
principality of Afshīn,32 is five stages in an easterly direction. The principality
of Usrüshana is vast | and important; it is said to have four hundred forts

324 That is, south; however, the towns mentioned lie either directly east or southeast of
Bukhara.

325 See the article by C. E. Bosworth in £1’, s.v. Dabūsiyya; Hudūd, 13 (Dabūsī); Barthold,
Turkestan, 96 n., 97.

326 Hudūd, 13 (Kushānī, “the most prosperous town of Sughd”); Barthold, Turkestan, 95-96.

327 Or Kish; see the article by C. E. Bosworth in E12, s.v. Kish; Hudūd, 113; Barthold, Turkestan,
134—135 (now Shahr-e Sabz).

328 Also called Karshi; see the articles by B. Spuler in EI”, s.v. Karshi, by V. Minorsky, s.v.
Nakhshab; Hudūd, 114 (Nakhshab); Barthold, Turkestan, 136-142.

329 On Samarqand, see the article by H. H. Schaeder and Yolande Crowe in £7’, s.v. Samarkand.

330 The river is the Zarafshan; see the article by C. E. Bosworth in E7?, s.v. Zarafshan. Barthold,
Turkestan, 82 n. 2, suggests a reading of Namiq.

331 See the article by J. H. Kramers in EI, s.v. Usrüshana; Hudūd, 115, 354 (where the name is
given in an alternate form as Surüshana).

332 Arabic mamlakat Afshin. On Afshin as the title of the princes of Usrüshana, see the article
by W. Barthold, H. A. R. Gibb, and Matthew S. Gordon in E13, s.v. Afshin.

294

130 THE GEOGRAPHY

and a number of large towns, among them Arsmanda,33 Zamin,?3* Mank,395
and Hisnak. It has a large river, which is a tributary of the ?asif, the river of
Samarqand. Nuggets of gold are found in this river and in no other place in
Khurasan, according to what I have heard. In all the cities of Khurasan there are
Arabs from the tribes of Mudar, Rabi‘a, and all the divisions of Yemen, except
in Usrüshana, where the people resisted letting the Arabs live with them, until
a man of the Banu Shayban came to them, settled there, and married one of
them. From the city of Usrūshana to Farghana is two stages.

Farghana
The town in Farghana??6 where the king resides is called Kasan.??" It is an
important and powerful town. All these towns are dependencies of Samarqand.

Ishtakhanj

Ishtakhanj??? is an important city with forts and cantons. It used to be a sep-
arate principality, but al-Mu'tasim turned over the principality of Ishtakhanj
to 'Ujayf.?3? From it to Samarqand is two stages. From Farghana to al-Shash?^9
is five stages. Al-Shash is an important town and one of the dependencies of
Samarqand. Whoever travels from Samarqand to al-Shash travels seven stages
to Khujanda;?^! which is one of the towns of Samarqand, then four stages from
Khujanda to al-Shash.

333 Marsmanda according to Hudüd, 115; Barthold, Turkestan, 168.

334 Hudūd, n5; Barthold, Turkestan, 94.

335 In other sources Mink; see Barthold, Turkestan, 168.

336 On the Farghana Valley, see the articles by W. Barthold in £/’, s.v. Farghana, and by Scott
C. Levi in E13, s.v. Farghana Valley; Hudūd, 15-116.

337 Barthold, Turkestan, 162-163.

338 In other sources, Ishtīkhān; the article by C. E. Bosworth in £77, s.v. Ishtikhàn; Barthold,
Turkestan, 95.

339 On the army commander ‘Ujayf b. ‘Anbasa, who served al-Ma'mün and al-Mu'tasim, see
the article by C. E. Bosworth in £1’, s.v. Udjayf b. 'Anbasa. He is mentioned by al-Ya'qübi
in the Tarikh, 2:570, 571, 574, 576, 582, and 584.

340 Al-Shāsh is the Arabic transcription of the native name (Cac) of the city later known as
Tashkent; see the article by W. Barthold in E12, s.v. Tashkent; Hudūd, 18 (Chach).

341 On Khujand(a), see the article by C. E. Bosworth in £7’, s.v. Khudjand(a); Barthold, Turke-
stan, 164—165 (Khojend).

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 131

Al-Shāsh
From al-Shash to the major frontier town of Asbīshāb?*? is two stages. It is the
town from which campaigns against the Turks are launched. It is the furthest
of the dependencies of Samargand.

These are the towns of Tukhāristān, Sogdia, Samargand, al-Shāsh, and Far-
ghāna that lie beyond the (Oxus) river on the main road. Beyond that are
the countries of the polytheists. The countries of the Turks which surround
Khurāsān and Sijistān are collectively known as Turkistan. The Turks comprise
a number of nationalities and a number of principalities, among them the
Kharlukhiyya, the Tughuz-Ughuz, the Turkash, the Kaymāk, and the Ghuzz.?4?
Each nationality of the Turks has a separate principality, and they fight each
other. They have no permanent dwellings or forts; rather, they stay in Turkish
ribbed dome-tents, whose supports are strips of leather of hides of horses or
cattle and whose coverings are felt. They are the most skillful of people at
working felt, because it is their clothing. There are no crops in Turkistan except
for millet (dukhn), which is jawars.?^^ Their food is mare's milk, and they also
eat horse meat, but they mostly eat game. Iron is scarce among them, so they
tip their arrows with bone. Nevertheless, they surround the land of Khurāsān
and attack from every direction and carry out raids. There is no country in
Khurāsān where the people do not have to fight the Turks or where Turks of
every nationality do not attack.

These are the towns and rural districts of Khurāsān and Sijistan, the dis-
tances between all the cities, and their circumstances. Let us now mention its
governors from the conguest to the present time, as well as the amount of its
land tax.

The Governors of Khurāsān
The first to enter Khurāsān was ‘Abdallah b. ‘Amir b. Kurayz b. Rabi‘a b. Habib
b. ‘Abd Shams. Uthmān b. ‘Affan wrote to him in the year 30,345 when he was in
charge of Basra, and wrote to Sa'id b. al-‘As b. Umayya b. ‘Abd Shams, who was
his governor in Kufa, commanding the two of them to invade Khurasan. | He

342 Isfījāb (Ispijab) in most accounts: see the article by C. E. Bosworth in £1’, s.v. Isfidjab;
Hudid, 18; Barthold, Turkestan, 175-178.

343 On early Turkish ethnography, see the article by Edith Ambros, et. al., in E72, s.v. Turks, and
the article by Cl. Cahen, G. Deverdun, and P. M. Holt in E12, s.v. Ghuzz. Al-Ya‘qubi’s Tughuz-
Ughuz, more properly Toquz-Oghuz (Nine Clans), refers to a confederation of Turkish
tribes formed at the beginning of the 7th century C.E.

344 Thatis, gawars, the Persian word for millet. See the article by A. Dietrich in £1? s.v. Djāwars.

345 30A.H. = September 4, 650 — August 23, 651; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2392-193.

295

296

132 THE GEOGRAPHY

said that whichever of them got to Khurasan first would be commander over it.
‘Abdallah b. ‘Amir received a letter from the king of Tus, saying, “I will get you
there first, provided that you make me ruler of Nīshāpūr” So he got ‘Abdallah
there first, and the latter wrote him a document that remains in the possession
of his descendants to the present day. ‘Abdallah b. ‘Amir conquered several
rural districts in Khurasan in the year 31.346 His vanguard was commanded by
‘Abdallah b. Khazim al-Sulami, and he was accompanied by al-Ahnaf b. Qays
al-Tamīmī.

Then ‘Abdallah b. ‘Amir left, putting Qays b. al-Haytham b. Asma’ b. al-Salt
al-Sulami in charge of Khurasan. He left al-Ahnaf b. Qays with him.

Then ‘Abdallah appointed Hatim b. al-Nu‘man al-Bāhilī, who stayed in Khu-
rasan conquering and raiding until Uthmān was killed in the year 35.347

The Commander of the Faithful ‘Ali b. Abi Talib—peace be upon him—
appointed Ja‘da b. Hubayra b. Abi Wahb b. ‘Amr b. Āidh al-Makhzūmī governor
of Khurasan.?^9 Māhawayh, the marzuban of Marw, had approached ‘Ali—
peace be upon him—while he was in Basra; ‘Ali granted him terms of capit-
ulation and wrote him a document which is preserved in Marw to this day.

After ‘Ali—peace be upon him—was assassinated, Mu'awiya appointed ‘Ab-
dallah b. ‘Amir over Khurasan. Ibn ‘Amir dispatched ‘Abdallah b. Khazim al-
Sulami and ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Samura there. The two of them went together
and besieged Balkh until they conquered it.349

Then ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Samura left and turned over Khurasan to ‘Abdallah
b. Khazim al-Sulamī.

Then Mu'awiya appointed Ziyad b. Abi Sufyan over Basra, Khurasan, and
Sijistan. Ziyad dispatched al-Hakam b. ‘Amr al-Ghifari, a Companion of the
Prophet— God's blessing be upon him—to Khurasan as commander. He left for
Khurāsān in the year 44.259? He was a well-behaved, pious man. | After he had
conquered some of the rural districts of Khurasan, Ziyad wrote to him, “The
Commander of the Faithful Mu'awiya has written to me that I should reserve
the white and the yellow for him,?*! so do not distribute any silver or gold”
Disregarding the letter, al-Hakam paid the fifth, but distributed the remainder
among the troops, and wrote to Ziyad: “I have found the Book of God to take

346 31A.H. = August 24, 651 - August 11, 652.

347 "Uthman died on 18 Dhu l-Hijja 35 (June 17, 656); see al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:204.

348 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:213—214; Gardīzī, Zayn al-Akhbar, 103.

349 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:258.

350 44A.H. = April 4, 664 — March 24, 665; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:264.

351 Le., that all the silver and gold (“the white and the yellow") taken as spoils should be sent
to Mu'àwiya, not just the customary fifth (the khums), as mandated by Qur'an 8:41.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 133

precedence over the letter of the Commander of the Faithful Mu'awiya. Even if
the heavens and the earth were closed up over a believer, if he feared God, God
would give him a way of deliverance from them.??? Peace” Al-Muhallab b. Abi
Sufra was one of al-Hakam b. ‘Amr’s men. Al-Hakam died in Khurasan.

Then Ziyad dispatched al-Rabī' b. Ziyad b. Anas b. al-Dayyan b. Qatan b.
Ziyād al-Harithi as commander over Khurasan. Al-Hasan al-Basri was his secre-
tary. Mu‘awiya appointed Khalid b. Mu‘ammar al-Sadūsī governor of Khurāsān.
He set out to go there, but Ziyad had him poisoned, and he died and never
reached Khurasan. Ziyad appointed ‘Abdallah b. al-Rabī' b. Ziyad to replace
his father. Then he deposed him and appointed ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Samura b.
Habib.

Then Ziyad died, and Mu‘awiya confirmed ‘Abd al-Rahman over Sijistan and
appointed ‘Ubaydallah b. Ziyad as governor of Khurasan. He dispatched him
with troops and ordered him to cross the river of the country of Tukharistan. He
went out with a large force and raided the country of Tukharistan. Al-Muhallab
b. Abi Sufra was the tactical commander and in charge of the campaign.
‘Ubaydallah b. Ziyad remained in Khurasan for two years; then he returned to
Mu‘awiya, making Aslam b. Zur'a b. ‘Amr b. al-Sa‘iq al-Kilābī his deputy over
Khurasan.

Mu'awiya appointed Ubaydallāh governor of Basra and his brother ‘Abdal-
lah b. Ziyad over Khurasan. He was there for four months, but Mu‘awiya heard
of his weakness and shameful behavior and deposed him.353

After ‘Abdallah b. Ziyad, Mu'awiya appointed ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Ziyad?54
governor of Khurasan, but he did not approve of him and so deposed him.

Then Mu'awiya appointed Saīd b. Uthmān—Sa'īd b. Uthmān had pre-
viously refused and had spoken insultingly to him. Said made his way to
Khurasan and raided Samarqand— he is said to have been the first who crossed
beyond the Oxus.*5 He raided Tukharistan, | Bukhara, and Samarqand. Aslam
b. Zur‘a al-Kilabi was in charge of the land tax in Khurasan. Sa'id b. Uthmān
asked him for the funds, but he would not give them to him and instead had
them sent to ‘Ubaydallah b. Ziyad, the governor of Basra. Aslam b. Zur'a then
fled from Khurasan and wrote to Mu'awiya to inform him that he had done
so, and that Sa'id b. Uthmān wanted to take the money. So Mu‘awiya deposed
Saīd b. Uthmān and appointed Aslam b. Zur‘a over Khurasan. Aslam set out for
Khurāsān and reached Marw al-Shahijan, where Saīd b. Uthmān was. Aslam

352 Cf. Quran, 21:30, 65:2.

353 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:281-282.

354 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:281; Gardizi, Zayn, 107.
355 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:282.

298

299

134 THE GEOGRAPHY

was in command of a sizable troop. One of his officers thrust a lance into Sa'id
b. ‘Uthman’s tent and killed one of his slave girls. Said wrote to Mu'awiya, and
Mu‘awiya wrote back to him and to Aslam, summoning both of them before
him. Qutham b. al-‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Mutallib had gone to Sa'id b. Uthmān, but
he died in Marw. The poet Malik b. al-Rayb was also with Saīd b. Uthmān, along
with Yazid b. Rabi‘a b. Mufarrigh al-Himyan. Saīd b. Uthmān then departed
from Khurasan.

‘Ubaydallah b. Ziyad made his brother 'Abbad b. Ziyad governor of Khurasan.
He went there and asked Yazid b. Mufarrigh to become his comrade. Ibn
Mufarrigh left Sa‘id and joined him, but the association turned out badly and
that is why he satirized it and mocked Ziyad's family.3°°

Then ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Ziyad became governor of Khurasan, but he left it
and designated Qays b. al-Haytham al-Sulami as his deputy.

Then Yazid b. Mu‘awiya made Salm b. Ziyād?*7 governor of Khurasan. There
was strong hostility between him and his brother Ubaydallāh b. Ziyād. He
was accompanied by al-Muhallab b. Abi Sufra, ‘Abdallah b. Khazim, Talha b.
‘Abdallah b. Khalaf al-Khuzāī —known as “the Talha of Talhas” (Talhat al-
Talhat)—‘Amr b. ‘Ubaydallah b. Mu‘ammar al-Taymi, ‘Abbad b. Husayn al-
Habati, ‘Imran b. Fasil al-Burjumi, and other notables of Basra. "Ubaydallāh
b. Ziyad tore down the houses of all those who had set out with his brother.
However, Yazid b. Mu'awiya wrote to him that he should rebuild them with
gypsum, | baked brick, and teak at his own expense, so he rebuilt them. Salm
raided Khwarazm and conquered the cities of Kandakin and Bukhara.

Yazid b. Mu'awiya died, and the insurrection of Ibn al-Zubayr broke out; so
Salm went back, appointing ‘Arfaja b. al-Ward al-Sa'di as his deputy. ‘Abdallah
b. Khàzim al-Sulamī?*3 went with Salm to follow him, but he sent him back and
wrote out his investiture over Khurasan. When he went back, 'Arfaja refused to
yield power to him. They fought with arrows, and an arrow struck ‘Arfaja, who
died.

"Abdallah b. Khazim remained in Khurasan, raiding and conquering. He was
loyal to Ibn Zubayr until ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan killed Mus'ab b. al-Zubayr
and sent his head to ‘Abdallah b. Khazim, writing to invite him to submit.359
But the latter took Mus'ab's head, washed it, embalmed it, put it in a shroud,

356 OnIbnMufarrigh and his invectives against the family of Ziyad, see the article by Ch. Pellat
in EF, s.v. Ibn Mufarrigh.

357 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:300—301; Gardizi, Zayn, 107.

358 Gardizi, Zayn, 108.

359 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:323-324.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 135

and buried it. He replied insolently to ‘Abd al-Malik and refused to accept what
‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan wanted him to do, and so the troops (ahl) of Khurasan
fell upon him and murdered him. The one who killed him was Waki‘ b. al-
Dawriqiyya,?9? who swore allegiance to ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan, to whom they
sent ‘Abdallah’s head.

When affairs became settled for ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan, he appointed
Umayya b. ‘Abdallah b. Khalid b. Asid b. Abi l-Ts b. Umayya b. ‘Abd Shams?6!
governor of Khurasan. Umayya crossed into the territory beyond the Oxus
and reached Bukhara. Then Bukayr b. Wishāh*%2 revolted against him, so he
returned.

Umayya remained in charge of Khurasan until al-Hajjaj was appointed gov-
ernor of Iraq.?9? When al-Hajjaj became governor, he wrote to ‘Abd al-Malik,
informing him that there were disturbances in Khurasan, and authority over it
was returned to him. He made al-Muhallab b. Abi Sufra governor of Khurasan
and Ubaydallāh b. Abi Bakra governor of Sijistan. When al-Muhallab reached
Khurasan, he stayed there a while and then went on to Tukharistan and then
to Kishsh, the capital of Sogdia. Then al-Muhallab fell ill and returned to Mar-
warrüdh suffering from gangrene in his leg. Al-Muhallab died in Khurasan after
having delegated authority to his son | Yazid b. al-Muhallab, who governed it for
a while.364

Then al-Hajjaj deposed Yazid b. al-Muhallab and made al-Mufaddal b. al-
Muhallab governor of Khurasan.?65 He remained in Khurasan until al-Hajjaj
seized Yazid b. al-Muhallab and imprisoned him. After al-Hajjaj had seized
Yazid b. al-Muhallab, he wrote to Qutayba b. Muslim al-Bāhilī,%6 who was
his agent ('amil) in Rayy, to become governor of Khurasan, ordering him to
arrest al-Mufaddal and the rest of the Muhallabid family and send them to
him in fetters. He did this: Qutayba b. Muslim went to Khurasan and sent the
Muhallabids to al-Hajjaj. He went to Bukhara and conquered it; then he went to
al-Tālagān, where Badham had revolted, and fought him until he defeated him

360 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:324, where he is called Waki‘ b. ‘Umayr, after his father— b. al-
Dawriqiyya means “the son of the Dawriqi woman” Cf. Gardizi, Zayn, 108.

361 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:324; Gardizi, Zayn, 109.

362 Soin the Ms, but the Leiden editor of the corresponding passage of the Ta’rikh (2:324)
prefers the reading Wassāj.

363 The appointment took place in 75/694; cf. Gardizi, Zayn, 109.

364 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:330.

365 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:341-342.

366 Gardizi, Zayn, m.

300

301

136 THE GEOGRAPHY

and killed him. Qutayba was still in Khurāsān when al-Walid b. ‘Abd al-Malik
became ruler. His authority and power over the country had become great:
he killed Nīzak Tarkhan and went to Khwārazm; then he went to Samarqand
and conquered it and concluded a peace treaty with Ghūzak the Ikhshīd of
Samarqand.

A few months after al-Hajjaj died, Sulayman b. ‘Abd al-Malik became ruler.367
He made Yazid b. al-Muhallab governor of Iraq and ordered him to hunt down
the partisans of al-Hajjaj. When Qutayba b. Muslim heard about that, he de-
cided to revolt, but Waki‘ b. Abi Sad al-Tamimi seized him and killed him.368
Waki‘ remained in Khurasan, confident that Sulayman would appoint him
governor. However, he did not do so; instead, Sulayman made Yazid b. al-
Muhallab?® governor of Khurasan as well as Iraq.

Yazid b. al-Muhallab went to Khurasan in person to pursue Qutayba's parti-
sans; he arrested Waki‘ b. Abi Süd and treated him brutally. The rural districts
of Khurasan revolted against Yazid b. al-Muhallab, so he dispersed his brothers
and sons as officials over the rural districts of Khurasan and put them in charge
of tax collection. ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. Marwan became ruler. When Yazid
heard about his accession, he left Khurasan, designating his son Mukhallad as
his deputy there and taking all his money with him. Some people advised him
against doing this, but he did not listen and went to Basra.?70

Meanwhile, ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz had deposed Yazid and had appointed
‘Adi b. Artat al-Fazārī. ‘Adi convinced Yazīd to go to ‘Umar; so he went, but
‘Umar imprisoned him. ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz made | al-Jarrah b. ‘Abdallah al-
Hakami3” governor of Khurasan and ordered him to detain Mukhallad b. Yazid
b. al-Muhallab and make sure he could not get away; which he did. A delegation
from Tibet came to him, asking him to send them someone to enlighten them
about the religion of Islam.

Then ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz deposed al-Jarrah b. ‘Abdallah and appointed
‘Abd al-Rahman b. Nu‘aym al-Ghamidi?" He instructed him to move the
female dependents and children of the Muslims from the territory beyond the
Oxus to Marw, but they would not comply and stayed there.

367 Al-Hajjaj died in Ramadan 95/June 714, and according to al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:351, Sulay-
màn became caliph on 15 Jumada 1 96 (January 26, 715).

368 Cf.aLYa'qubi Ta’rikh, 2:354—356; Gardizi, Zayn, 112, gives the name as Waki‘ b. Abi Aswad.

369 Gardizi, Zayn, u2.

370 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:362.

371 Cf al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:362; Gardizi, Zayn, 113.

372 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:362-363; Gardizi, Zayn, 113.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 137

Yazid b. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan became ruler??? and made Maslama b. ‘Abd
al-Malik governor of Iraq and Khurasan. Maslama appointed Sa‘id b. ‘Abd al-
‘Aziz b. al-Harith b. al-Hakam b. Abi l-'As?7 over Khurāsān. He made war on
the kingdom of Farghana and besieged Khujanda in the country of Sogdia and
killed and took prisoners.

Then Maslama deposed him and appointed Sa'id b. ‘Amr al-Harashi, a Syrian.
Then Khurasan and Iraq were united under ‘Umar b. Hubayra al-Fazārī,75 who
made Muslim b. Sa'id b. Aslam b. Zur'a al-Kilàbi governor of Khurasan. He
went to Khurasan and started raiding, but accomplished nothing; the people
of Farghana fought him until they defeated him.

Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik became ruler?76 and by then the propagandists in
Khurasan on behalf of the Bantu Hashim had appeared.?77 He made Khalid b.
‘Abdallah b. Yazid b. Asad b. Kurz al-Qasri??$ governor of Iraq and Khurasan
and ordered him to send someone he could trust to Khurasan. Khalid sent
his brother Asad b. ‘Abdallah. When news reached him about the ‘Abbasid
propagandists, Asad arrested a number of people he suspected and had their
hands and feet cut off.?79

News of the unrest in Khurasan reached Hisham, who then appointed as
his own representative Ashras b. ‘Abdallah al-Sulami.?8? Then he deposed him
and appointed al-Junayd b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Amr b. al-Harith b. Kharija b.
Sinan al-Murri??! whom he then deposed and replaced with ‘Asim b. ‘Abdallah
b. Yazid al-Hilālī.382

Then news reached Hisham that civil strife had broken out in Khurāsān,
so he reattached it to Khalid | b. ‘Abdallah al-Qasri.?8? The latter dispatched

373 Yazid b. Abd al-Malik became caliph in Rajab 101 (January-February 720); cf. al-Ya'qübi,
Ta'rikh, 2:371.

374 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:373; Gardizi, Zayn, 114.

375 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:374; Gardizi, Zayn, 114.

376 Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik became caliph on the death of Yazid b. ‘Abd al-Malik in Sha‘ban
105 (January 724). Curiously, al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:379, says that Hisham reached Damascus
in Ramadan 105, which he identifies as "Kānūn of the non-Arabs" (December or January),
which would apply to Sha‘ban, but not to Ramadan 105, which fell in February 724.

377 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:383, on the beginnings of the ‘Abbasid propaganda.

378 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:379; Gardizi, Zayn, 114.

379 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:383.

380 Gardizi, Zayn, u5.

381 Ibid.

382 Ibid.

383 Thatis, placed the province again under the authority of the governor of Iraq.

302

138 THE GEOGRAPHY

his brother Asad b. ‘Abdallah. Asad b. ‘Abdallah died in Khurasan, having
designated Ja‘far b. Hanzala al-Bahrani, a Syrian, as his deputy over it.

Hisham deposed Khalid b. ‘Abdallah from Iraq, made Yusuf b. ‘Umar al-
Thaqafi governor, and ordered him to send him a man who knew about Khura-
san. He sent ‘Abd al-Karim b. Salit b. ‘Atiya al-Hanafi to him, and Hisham ques-
tioned him about Khurasan and its conditions and its notables. He discussed
the matter with him and finally recommended Nasr b. Sayyar al-Laythi.38^ So
Hisham wrote out his investiture as governor of Khurasan—he had previously
been in charge of one of the rural districts of Khurasan. He deposed Ja‘far b.
Hanzala and took over the administration of the province. He arrested Yahya
b. Zayd b. al-Husayn in Balkh and imprisoned him in the citadel. He wrote to
Hisham, but Hishàm had already died when the letter arrived.

Al-Walid b. Yazid b. ‘Abd al-Malik became ruler.*%5 Yahya b. Zayd managed to
escape from prison and made his way to the district of Nishapur. Nasr b. Sayyar
dispatched Salm b. Ahwaz al-Hilali, who overtook Yahya b. Zayd in al-Juzjan.
They fought, and Yahya b. Zayd was struck by a stray arrow and killed. Salm b.
Ahwaz crucified the body over the gate of al-Jūzjān. Yahya b. Zayd remained
crucified there until Abu Muslim was victorious and took him down, shrouded
him and buried him, and killed everyone who had approved of his murder.

The propagandists of the Bani Hashim in Khurasan became numerous in
the year [1]26.3°6 Nasr b. Sayyar fought with Juday‘ b. ‘Ali al-Kirmānī al-Azdī.

Then al-Walid was murdered, and Yazid b. al-Walid b. ‘Abd al-Malik became
ruler?5? Khurasan was in a state of unrest, the Hashimite propagandists had
become numerous, and the tribes of Rabi‘a and Yemen had both dissociated
themselves from Nasr b. Sayyar.

When Marwan b. Muhammad b. Marwan b. al-Hakam became ruler288 the
activity of Abu Muslim in Khurasan had come out into the open. Nasr b. Sayyar
was powerless against him, so he sought a truce and cessation of hostilities.
Then Abü Muslim killed Nasr b. Sayyar and took control of Khurasan in the
year 130.29? He sent out his agents and troops, and he dispatched Qahtaba

384 Cf.aLYa'qubi Tarīkh, 2:392; Gardizi, Zayn, 116.

385 According to al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:397, he became caliph on 20 Rabi‘ 1125 (January 21, 743).

386 126A.H. = October 25, 743 - October 12, 744.

387 According to al-Ya'qübi, Ta’rikh, 2:401, he became caliph on 1 Rajab 126 (April 19, 744).

388 According to al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:404, he became caliph in Safar 127 (November-Decem-
ber, 744).

389 130A.H. = September n, 747 - August 30, 748.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 139

and others to Iraq. | Abu l-Abbas ‘Abdallah b. Muhammad the Commander of
the Faithful became the ruler, and the blessed Hashimite dynasty was estab-
lished.39°

Abū Muslim stayed in Khurāsān until the year 136.39! Then he asked the
Commander of the Faithful Abū l-Abbas for permission to perform the pilgrim-
age. Having received permission, he came to Iraq, leaving Abū Dawid Khalid
b. Ibrahim al-Dhuhli??? as his deputy over Khurāsān. Then the Commander
of the Faithful Abū l-Abbas died, and Abū Ja‘far al-Mansür became ruler.39%
Abū Dawid Khalid b. Ibrahim was still Abū Muslim's deputy in Khurasan. Then
Abu Muslim was murdered,394 and Sunfādh3%5 revolted in Khurasan, seeking
revenge for Abū Muslim. Al-Mansür dispatched Jahwar b. Marrar al-Tjli against
him; he defeated him, killed him, and dispersed his followers.

Abū Jafar al-Mansür made ‘Abd al-Jabbar b. ‘Abd al-Rahmān al-Azdi396
governor of Khurāsān in the year 148,39” and he went there. He had been in
charge of al-Mansur's police (shurta). When he had amassed a lot of money and
supplies in Khurasan, he rebelled openly and made no secret of his opposition.
Al-Mansur dispatched al-Mahdi against him. He fought him, captured him, and
sent him to Abt Ja‘far, who had him killed and crucified at Qasr Ibn Hubayra
in the year 149.398 Al-Mahdi resided at al-Rayy. When Qarin the Isbahbadh of
Tabaristan revolted, al-Mahdi dispatched Khazim b. Khuzayma al-Tamimi and
Rawh b. Hatim al-Muhallabi against him. Tabaristan was conquered, and Qarin
was captured.

Al-Mahdi made Asid b. ‘Abdallah al-Khuzā'ī39? governor of Khurasan—Asid
died there. Then he appointed Humayd b. Qahtaba al-Ta’ over it; he stayed

390 Arabic al-dawla al-Hashimiyya al-mubaraka. According to al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:418, Abū l-
‘Abbas ‘Abdallah b. Muhammad (al-Saffah) became caliph on 13 Rabi‘ 1132 (November 26,
749).

391 1364.H.=July7, 753 - June 26, 754; the pilgrimage would have taken place in the last month
of the year.

392 Gardīzī, Zayn, 123.

393 According to al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:436, he became caliph on 12 Dhūl-Hijja 136 (June 8, 754).

394 According to al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:115, Abū Muslim died on 24 Sha‘ban 137 (February 12, 755).

395 Called Sunbadh in al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:442; cf. al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:119—120.

396 Gardizi, Zayn, 123.

397 148A.H. = February 27, 765 - February 15, 766; but this is a mistake for 140 (May 25, 757 —
May 13, 758); see al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:128; Wiet, 127 n. 1.

398 Al-Taban, Ta’rikh, 3134-135, places the revolt and death of ‘Abd al-Jabbar in 141 (May 14,
758 — May 3, 759).

399 Gardizi, Zayn, 125 (reverses the order with Abū 'Awn).

393

304

140 THE GEOGRAPHY

there for a while, but then al-Mansur deposed him and appointed Abū ‘Awn
‘Abd al-Malik b. Yazid.*?? Then ‘Abd al-Malik b. Yazid was deposed.

Having become caliph,*°! al-Mahdi sent back Humayd b. Qahtaba,^?? who
stayed there until he died.

Then al-Mahdi made Mu'adh b. Muslim al-Razi,^93 a client of the Rabīa,
governor of Khurasan. Meanwhile, Yusuf al-Barm the Kharijite*?^ (al-Harūrī)
had revolted, and al-Mahdi dispatched | Yazid b. Mazyad b. Za'ida al-Shaybani
to fight Yusuf al-Barm. He fought him until he captured him and sent him
to al-Mahdi, who cut off his hands and feet. Yusuf al-Barm's revolt was fol-
lowed immediately by that of Hakim al-A‘war, known as al-Muganna‘,* while
Mu'adh b. Muslim was still governor of Khurasan. With him were ‘Uqba b. Salm
al-Hunāī, Jibril b. Yahya al-Bajalī, and al-Layth, client of the Commander of
the Faithful. But al-Mahdi designated Sa'īd al-Harashi to fight al-Muqanna‘; he
repeatedly defeated him until al-Muqanna‘ went to Sogdia and barricaded him-
self in a fortress at Kishsh. Hard pressed by the siege, he and his partisans drank
poison; they all died together, and the fortress was conquered.

Al-Mahdi deposed Mu'adh b. Muslim from Khurasan and made al-Musayyab
b. Zuhayr al-Dabbi*?6 governor. Towards the end of his caliphate, al-Mahdi
deposed al-Musayyab and made al-Fadl b. Sulayman al-Tusit°’ governor of
Khurasan, who remained there until al-Mahdi died and in the caliphate of
Musa al-Hadi.^9$

400 Gardizi, Zayn, 124.

401 According to al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:468, 472, al-Mahdi became caliph on the day of his
father's death, 3 Dhū l-Hijja 158 (October 4, 775).

402 Gardizi, Zayn, 125 (after ‘Abda b. Qudayd).

403 Gardizi, Zayn, 127.

404 On the revolt of Yusuf al-Barm in eastern Khurasan, see the article by C. E. Bosworth
in E12, s.v. Yusuf al-Barm; al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:478—479; Gardīzī, Zayn, 126-127. Although
al-Ya‘qubi labels the revolts leader a Kharijite in allusion to the groups that “seceded”
(kharaja) from the army of the caliph ‘Ali, rejecting his acceptance of human mediation
between himself and Mu'awiya—their assembling at a place called al-Harūrā” earned
them the name of Harūrīyya—there is little evidence that the revolt was a continuation
of the Kharijite movement.

405 On the revolt of al-Muqanna' (“the Masked One”—he is said to have hidden his face
behind a veil of silk or a mask of gold and to have claimed to be divine), see the article in
EI’, s.v al-Mukanna', and Patricia Crone, Nativist Prophets, 106—143. Curiously, al-Ya‘qubi
does not mention this revolt in the Ta’rikh.

406 Gardiz, Zayn, 127.

407 Gardīzī, Zayn, 114 (Abu l-Abbas ...)

408 Musa al-Hadi ruled from Muharram 169/August 785 to Rabi 1 170/September 786. The

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 141

Harun al-Rashid made Jafar b. Muhammmad b. al-Ash'ath al-Khuza'1*0?
governor of Khurasan, but he suffered a stroke and died. Then he made the
latter's son, al-‘Abbas b. Jafar b. Muhammad b. al-Ash‘ath,#!° governor in his
father's place; then he deposed him and made al-Ghitrif b. 'Ata',!! who was al-
Rashid's maternal uncle, governor. He could not control Khurasan, and so he
deposed him and appointed Hamza b. Malik b. al-Haytham al-Khuzai. Then he
deposed him, and appointed al-Fadl b. Yahya b. Khalid b. Barmak*!? governor of
Khurasan. The latter went to Balkh and conquered a number of rural districts
of Tukharistan, Kabul-Shah, and Shiginān.

Then al-Rashid deposed al-Fadl b. Yahya b. Khalid and appointed ‘Ali b. ‘Isa
b. Māhān?!3 governor. He had been in charge of al-Rashid’s security forces
(shurta). "Alī b. Īsā came to Khurasan. Abū ‘Amr the Kharijite had revolted, so
he fought him until he killed him. Then Hamza the Kharijite revolted against
‘Ali b. ‘Isa b. Mahan in Badhghis. | "Alī b. ‘Isa hastened to oppose him, defeating
him and pursuing him to Kabul, where he fought him until he killed him.
After Hamza, Abū |-Khasib revolted against him at Bāward, so he fought him
and killed him. ‘Ali b. ‘Isa acquired an impressive amount of wealth. ‘Ali had
dispatched Rafi‘ b. al-Layth b. Nasr b. Sayyar b. Rafi‘ al-Laythi to Samarqand;
Rafi‘ revolted, and his might increased and his movement gained momentum.

text of the Leiden edition at this point is problematic. The editor decided to suppress
an instance of the word wa- (and) that he deemed a copyist's error. As printed, the text
translates: "Towards the end of his caliphate, al-Mahdi deposed al-Musayyab and made
al-Fadl b. Sulayman al-Tūsī governor of Khurāsān, who remained there until al-Mahdi
died, and in the caliphate of Misa al-Hadi [and, suppressed by the editor] Hārūn al-
Rashid made Ja'far b. Muhammad ... governor of Khurāsān” This implies the unlikely
scenario that Harün, who was out of favor during al-Hadi’s reign, appointed the governor
of Khurasan. Furthermore, al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3:605, 609, places Ja'far b. Muhammad's
appointment after the death of al-Hādī and attributes the appointment of al-‘Abbas b.
Jafar and al-Ghitrif b. ‘Ata’ to al-Rashid. One solution is to assume that the editor has
wrongly emended the Ms and mispunctuated the text. The translation here reverts to the
MS reading. However, there is still the problem that al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:488, locates al-
Ghitrif's disastrous governorship in the reign of al-Hadi and makes no mention of him
during the reign of al-Rashid.

409 Gardizi, Zayn, 129.

410 Gardīzī, Zayn, 129.

411 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:488; Gardizi, Zayn, 129.

412 Gardiz, Zayn, 130.

413 Gardizi Zayn, 131 (after Mansur b. Yazid).

305

306

142 THE GEOGRAPHY

Harun heard that this had happened with the collaboration of ‘Ali b. Īsā;*!*
he therefore dispatched Harthama b. A‘yan, who seized Alī b. Īsā and took him
to al-Rashid in irons. His wealth was also seized and confiscated. Harthama b.
Ayan al-Balkhi was made governor of Khurasan in the year 191.4!

Then al-Rashid went to Khurasan, leaving his son Muhammad al-Amin as
his deputy in Baghdad. He took al-Ma'mūn with him to Khurasan, and the army
accompanied him. When he reached Tus he fell ill. The illness became severe,
so he sent al-Ma'mun, along with Harthama and the military officers, to Marw.
Al-Rashid died in Tus in Jumādā 11 of the year 193,*!6 and he was buried there.

Al-Ma'mün stayed in Marw as governor of Khurasan, its rural districts, and
its other dependencies. He dispatched Harthama b. A'yan to Samarqand for the
war against Rafi‘ b. al-Layth b. Nasr b. Sayyar al-Laythi; he fought him until he
conquered Samarqand. Rafi‘ surrendered under safe-conduct, and Harthama
sent him to al-Ma'mün, who sent him on to Muhammad (al-Amin), informing
him of the victory. AI-Ma'mün remained in Marw for the remainder of the year
193 and 194.*!” Then Muhammad summoned him to Baghdad, dispatching for
that purpose al-‘Abbas b. Musa b. ‘Isa, Muhammad b. ‘Isa b. Nahik, and Salih the
sahib al-musalla.*'* Al-Ma’min refused to go back, saying this was in violation
of the agreement. (Al-Amin) therefore sent ‘Isma b. Abi ‘Isma al-Sabi against
him with an army, | but Isma stayed in al-Rayy and did not leave. Then (al-
Amin) dispatched ‘Alī b. ‘Isa b. Mahan, whom he had released from prison,*'? to
Khurāsān. When al-Ma'mūn heard of that, he sent Tahir b. al-Husayn b. Mus'ab
al-Büshanji from Marw with four thousand troops. He encountered Alī b. Īsā at
al-Rayy and killed him. Then al-Ma'mun also dispatched Harthama b. A'yan to

414 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:515.

415 191A.H. = November 17, 806 - November 5, 807; cf. Gardizi, Zayn, 132.

416 March 809; the parallel passage in al-Ya'qübi, Ta’rikh, 2:521, dates the death of al-Rashid to
the preceding month, Jumada 1 (February 809); al-Tabari, Ta’rikh, 3:739—740, reports both
dates.

417 That is, the remainder of 809 until October 810.

418 “Keeper of the Caliph’s Prayer Rug”; on the ceremonial functions of this court official see
al-Tabani, Ta’rikh, 3:778, 795 (trans. M. Fishbein, The History of al-Tabari, xXx1, 25, n. 122, and
45), and 3:979, 1016 (trans. C. E. Bosworth, The History of al-Tabari, xXXI1, 17, n. 38, and 66).
Al-Ya‘qibi’s narrative of the falling out of the two brothers and their eventual war begins
at Tarīkh, 2:529.

419 As has been mentioned, Hārūn al-Rashid had dismissed Alī b. Īsā as governor of Khura-
san, confiscated his wealth, and had him placed under house arrest in Baghdad (cf. al-
Tabari, Ta’rikh, 3:732). After Harün's death, al-Amin released ‘Ali and put him in charge of
the campaign against al-Ma'mün in Khurasan.

THE FIRST QUARTER: THE EAST 143

Iraq. Al-Ma'mün remained in Marw until Muhammad (al-Amin) was killed at
the end of Muharram 198,??? and he was given the oath of allegiance as caliph.

Al-Ma'mun remained in Khurasan for the years 199 and 200, sending officials
to Iraq. He sent successively Humayd b. ‘Abd al-Hamid b. Ribī al-Tā'ī al-Tūsī; ‘Ali
b. Hisham b. Khusraw al-Marwarrūdhī; Dhū l-Alamayn ‘Ali b. Abi Sa'īd, son of
al-Fadl b. Sahl's maternal aunt, as chief of the land tax in Iraq; and al-Hasan
b. Sahl, as plenipotentiary.*?! Harthama b. A'yan left Iraq in anger and went to
al-Ma'mun; al-Ma'mun arrested him, and he died after three days in prison in
Marw in the year 200.422 Then, in 202,423 al-Ma’mun swore an oath of allegiance
in Marw to al-Rida ‘Ali b. Musa b. Ja‘far b. Muhammad b. ‘Ali b. al-Husayn b. ‘Ali
b. Abi Talib—upon whom be peace—as heir apparent. He left Marw that same
year, journeying at a leisurely pace until he came to Sarakhs. He stayed there,
and al-Fadl b. Sahl, his vizier, was killed in the bath in Sarakhs.^?^ Al-Ma'mūn
executed a number of others in connection with him. Al-Ma'mun traveled on to
Tus, and when he reached Tus he stayed there. That was in the year 203.725 Al-
Rida—upon whom be peace— died in Tus.*?6 Al-Ma’min had written all the
princes | of Khurasan to pacify them until things became calm.

Al-Ma'mun made Raja b. Abīl-Pahhāk, the husband of al-Fadl b. Sahl's sister,
governor of all Khurasan. Al-Ma'mun arrived in Baghdad on 15 Safar 204.27
All of Khurasan deteriorated under Raja’ b. Abi l-Dahhak; al-Ma’mun therefore
appointed Ghassan b. 'Abbad*?? governor. He set things right and restored
order. Al-Ma'mun found him praiseworthy, and he stayed in office for the rest
of 204 and several months of 205.

Then Tahir b. al-Husayn b. Mus‘ab al-Büshanji*?? maneuvered al-Ma'mūn
into appointing him governor of Khurasan and investing him over it. He went

420 30 Muharram 198 = September 30, 813. Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:536—537.

421 Arabic ala jamī al-umür, literally “over all matters."

422 200A.H. = August u, 815 - July 29, 816. According to al-Tabari, Ta’rikh, 3:996 ff. Harthama
did indeed die in 200; but cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:546, where the date of his death is given
as 201.

423 202A.H. = July 20, 817 - July 8, 818; but cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:545, where the date of this
event is given as 7 Ramadan 201 (March 29, 817); al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 3:1013, gives it as 2
Ramadan 201 (March 24, 817).

424 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:548; al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3:1027, gives a date of 2 Sha'bān 202 (Febru-
ary 13, 818) for the murder.

425 203A.H. = July 9, 818 - June 27, 819.

426 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:550-551.

427 August u, 819; but al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:551, gives the date as the following month, Rabi‘ 1.

428 Cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:550; Gardīzī, Zayn, 134.

429 Gardīzī, Zayn, 135-136.

307

308

144 THE GEOGRAPHY

there in the year 205.430 When he heard that al-Ma'mün had an unfavorable
opinion of him, he encouraged signs of rebellion but did nothing openly him-
self. Al-Mamun heard about it, and it is said that Tahir was guilefully given a
(poisoned) drink. Tahir died in the year 207.431

Al-Ma'mūn appointed Tāhir's son, Talha b. Tahir b. al-Husayn,^?? to replace
him. He remained in firm control as commander of Khurasan for seven years.
Talha b. Tahir died in the year 215.433

Al-Ma'mün had appointed ‘Abdallah b. Tahir^9* governor of the rural dis-
tricts of al-Jabal and Azerbaijan; he went there, but fell ill in al-Dinawar. Then
al-Ma'mūn named him governor of Khurāsān in place of his brother Talha b.
Tahir, sending the document of investiture to him via Ishaq b. Ibrahim and
Yahya b. Aktham, the Chief Qadi. ‘Abdallah b. Tahir went to Khurasan and
resided at Nishapur, which he made his home; no other governor of Khurasan
before him had resided there. ‘Abdallah b. Tahir remained in charge of Khura-
san and its districts for fourteen years, with firm authority, governing power-
fully, and the entire province was in good order. He died at Nīshāpūr in the
year 230,*?5 at the age of forty-eight.

Al-Wathig appointed ‘Abdallah b. Tahir's son, Tahir b. ‘Abdallah b. Tahir,*36
governor of Khurasan. He remained in Khurasan during the caliphates of al-
Wathiq, al-Mutawakkil, and al-Muntasir and for part of the caliphate of al-
Musta‘in. He governed it firmly for eighteen years. He died at Nīshāpūr in Rajab
248,137 at the age of forty-four.

Al-Mustaīn appointed Tahir b. ‘Abdallah’s son, Muhammad b. Tahir b. |
‘Abdallah b. Tahir,*38 governor of Khurāsān. He remained its governor from the
year 248 to the year 259. Affairs were disturbed by the revolt of al-Hasan b. Zayd
al-Talibi in Tabaristan and elsewhere, as well as by the revolt of Ya‘qub b. al-
Layth al-Saffar in Sijistan,4°9 which spread to the rural districts of Khurasan.
Ya'qub b. al-Layth al-Saffar advanced to Nishapur in Shawwal 25940 and cap-

430 205A.H.- June 17, 820 - June 5, 821.

431 207A.H.- May 27, 822 — May 15, 823; cf. al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:556-557.
432 Gardiz, Zayn, 135.

433 215A.H. = February 28, 830 - February 17, 831.
434 Gardiz, Zayn, 135.

435 230A.H. = September 18, 844 — September 6, 845.
436 Gardiz, Zayn, 137.

437 September 862.

438 Gardīzī, Zayn, 138.

439 Gardīzī, Zayn, 138.

440 August 873.

THE SOUTHERN QUARTER 145

tured Muhammad b. Tahir. He made certain that he and the members of his
family could not escape, confiscated their property and what was in their resi-
dences, and carried them in fetters to a fortress in Kirman called the fortress of
Bamm. They remained in that state until al-Saffar died. Khurasan came to be
without them, and ‘Amr b. al-Layth,^^? al-Saffar's brother, took control of it.
Five commanders of the Tahirid family were governors of Khurasan, ruling for
fifty-five years. With the fall of dynasties, affairs pass away, circumstances alter,
weakness befalls, and inadequacy becomes visible.

Theland tax of Khurasan, from all the districts, amounted every year to forty
million dirhams, apart from the fifths (of spoils) paid from the frontier regions.
The Tahirid family spent all of it as they saw fit. In addition, they received
thirteen million from Iraq, apart from gifts.

Such is the Eastern Quarter. We have mentioned every report about it we
have received and every account we have learned, and we have described its
circumstances. Let us now mention the Southern Quarter^*? and what is in it.
In God lies success.

The Southern Quarter

For anyone who wishes to travel from Baghdad to Kufa and to the road lead-
ing to the Hijaz, Medina, Mecca, and al-T@if, it is 30 farsakhs, three stages, from
Baghdad to Kufa. The first stage ends at Qasr Ibn Hubayra, 12 farsakhs from
Baghdad. Yazid b. ‘Umar b. Hubayra al-Fazārī had it built in the days of Mar-
wan b. Muhammad b. Marwan.^^^ | At that time, Ibn Hubayra was Marwan's
governor of Iraq and wanted to distance himself from Kufa. Qasr Ibn Hubayra
is a great and prosperous city in which officials and governors reside. Its popu-
lace is a mixture of peoples. It is on a canal called al-Sarat that feeds from the
Euphrates. From Qasr Ibn Hubayra it isa distance of two Arab miles to the main
part of the Euphrates, at a bridge over the main part of the Euphrates called the
Sura Bridge.*t5 From Qasr Ibn Hubayra one travels to a place named Suq Asad

441 Thatis, without a Tahirid ruler.

442 Gardizi, Zayn, 142.

443 Arabic al-Rub‘ al-Qibli, the quarter that lies toward the qibla, the direction toward Mecca
faced by Muslims in prayer: in Iraq, this would be south-southwest, but al-Ya'qübi uses the
expression more generally to designate the Southern Quarter.

444 Marwan 11, the last Umayyad caliph, reigned 127—132/744—750.

445 On Qasr Ibn Hubayra and the Sura Bridge, see the article by J. Lassner in £1’, s.v. Kasr ibn
Hubayra, and G. Le Strange, Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 70—71. As Le Strange notes, by

309

146 THE GEOGRAPHY

on the west bank of the Euphrates in the county (tassūj) called al-Fallūja. Then
one travels from Süq Asad to Kufa. The stretches from Baghdad to Kufa are in
populous areas and large, prosperous villages, one after another, with a mixed
population of non-Arabs and Arabs.

Kufa is the chief city of Iraq, the largest garrison city,^^9 the Dome of
Islam,^^? and the Abode of Emigration (Dar al-Hijra) of the Muslims. It is the
first city that the Muslims laid out in Iraq, in the year 14.448 In it are the tribal
land allotments (khitat) of the Arabs. It is located on the main part of the
Euphrates, from which its people obtain water. It is one of the finest of towns,
one of the most spacious, salubrious, and extensive.

Its land tax revenues (kharāj) are included within the land tax revenues of
the counties of the Sawad. The counties of the Sawād associated with Kufa are
the county of al-Jubba; the county of al-Budat; Furat Badagla; al-Salihin; and
Nahr Yusuf. Al-Hira is three Arab miles from it.

Al-Hira is above al-Najaf.449 Al-Najaf was on the shore of Bahr al-Milh, which
in ancient times used to reach up to al-Hira. Al-Hira is the residence of the clan
of Buqayla and others. It used to be the residence of the kings of the Banu Nasr

“main part” of the Euphrates (mu ‘am al-furat), al-Ya‘qubi refers to the western branch of
the Euphrates after the river bifurcated around the latitude of Karbala’, not the present-
day main channel (cf. his placement of Kufa on the “main part” of the Euphrates, below).
The eastern branch was also known to ‘Abbasid-era writers as the Sura River. Pace al-
Ya‘qubi, the Sura Bridge spanned this eastern (Sura) branch, not the “main part” or western
branch.

446 Arabic al-misr al-aZam:The term misr (pl. amsar) in early Islam applied to the settlements
that developed out of armed encampments established by the Arabs in conquered terri-
tories. It applied especially to Basra and Kufa in Iraq, and to Fustat in Egypt. Later usage
extended the word to any large urban area. Al-Ya'gūbī appears to intend both senses here,
as he mentions both the size of Kufa and its history. See the articles by C. E. Bosworth in
ET’, s.v. Misr (section B), and by Hichem Djait in £7, s.v. al-Küfa.

447 Arabic Qubbat al-Islam: the dictionaries mention this epithet for Kufa (e.g., Lane, Lexicon,
2536, s.v. qubba). Al-Zamakhsharī, Asās al-balagha, s.v., notes a related idiom, huwa qabb
qawmihi, which he glosses as “he is the head (qabb) of his people.’ The epithet may be
connected with another expression, qubbat al-ard, the “dome of the earth," that is, its
geographical center; see the article by Ch. Pellat in in £7, s.v. al-Kubba.

448 14A.H. = February 25, 635 — February 13, 636.

449 Al-Najaf (the Embankment) is here the name not just of the town near Kufa, the location
of the tomb of the first Shi'i Imam, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, but also the surrounding site more
generally, a slightly raised plateau which did indeed hem in the marshy lake known as Bahr
al-Milh (the Salty Sea). This lake is now, as in al-Ya'qübi's time, limited to the area further
north around Karbala and is also known today as Buhayrat al-Razaza. See the article by
E. Honigmann and C. E. Bosworth in EI, s.v. al-Nadj: af.

THE SOUTHERN QUARTER 147

of Lakhm, who were of the clan of al-Nu‘man b. al-Mundhir.*5 The notables
of the populace of al-Hira are Christians. Among them, from the Arab tribes
who follow the Christian religion, are, from the Banu Tamim, the clan of the
poet ‘Adi b. Zayd al-Ibādī,*! others from Sulaym, others from Tayyi and still
others. Al-Khawarnaq is nearby to the east, three Arab miles from al-Hira. Al-
Sadīr is in the steppe nearby.**2

The Tribal Land Allotments (Khitat) of Kufa
‘Umar b. al-Khattab*5? wrote to Sad b. Abi Waggās*5* when he conquered
Iraq, ordering him to settle at Kufa and ordering the troops to divide it into
allotments. Every tribe with its leader marked out its allotment, and ‘Umar
granted plots to the Companions of the Messenger of God— God's blessings
and peace be upon him. Thus, ‘Abs was settled alongside the mosque, although
a group of them later moved to the outskirts of Kufa. Salman b. Rabi‘a al-
Bahili, al-Musayyab b. Najaba al-Fazārī, and some people from Qays claimed
an allotment opposite the house of Ibn Mastūd. ‘Abdallah b. Mas‘td, Talha
b. Ubaydallah, and ‘Amr b. Hurayth claimed the houses around the mosque.
‘Umar granted a plot to Jubayr b. Mut‘im, who built a house and then sold it
to Musa b. Talha. He granted a plot to Sa‘d b. Qays near the house of Salman
b. Rabīa, with a street running between the two plots. Sad b. Abi Waggās
claimed as a plot for himself the house that is known as the house of ‘Umar
b. Sa‘d. (Umar) granted plots to Khalid b. ‘Urfuta, Khabbab b. al-Aratt, ‘Amr b.
al-Harith b. Abi Dirar, and Umāra b. Ruwayba al-Tamimi. He granted a plot to
Abū Mas'üd Ugba b. ‘Amr al-Ansari, and another plot next to that of Juhayna
to the Banū Shamkh b. Fazāra. He granted the Square of Khunays*5 as a plot
to Hashim b. ‘Utba b. Abi Waggās, and granted a plot to Shurayh b. al-Hārith al-
Tai. ‘Umar granted Usama b. Zayd what lay between the mosque and the house
of ‘Amr b. al-Harith b. Abi Dirar for a house. He granted to Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari
half of al-Ari (the Stables), which was an open space by the mosque. He granted

450 On the pre-Islamic city of al-Hira, the Christian Arab clan of the Lakhmids, and their
famous king al-Nu‘man, see the article by A. F. L. Beeston and I. Shahid in E12, s.v. al-Hira.

451 ‘Adib. Zayd (d. c. 600C.E.) was a member of a family of Christian Arab bureaucrats that
served the Sasanians. See the article by Tilman Seidensticker in £1? s.v. ‘Adi b. Zayd.

452 Al-Khawarnaq and al-Sadir were famous palaces in the vicinity of Kufa attributed to the
Lakhmids. See the article by L. Massignon in £7?, s.v. al-Khawarnak.

453 The second caliph, ruled 13-23/634-644.

454 One of the commanders who led the early Islamic conquest of Iraq, and its first governor.

455 Reading Persian chahār-sū for al-Ya'qübi's Shihar Sūj, and Khunays for Khunaysh, on the
basis of al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 2:745.

310

zu

148 THE GEOGRAPHY

to Hudhayfa b. al-Yamān with a group of 'Abs (the other) half of al-Ārī, which
was an open space where the horses of the Muslims were kept. He granted to
‘Amr b. Maymūn al-Awdi the plaza that is named after ‘Ali b. Abi Talib—upon
him be peace.**6 He granted a plot to Abū Jabira al-Ansari, who was in charge
of the military register (diwan al-jund). He granted to ‘Adi b. Hatim and the
rest of Tayyi the area of Bishr's Pasture.**7 He granted a plot to al-Zubayr b. al-
‘Awwam, and he granted a large, extensive plot to Jarīr b. ‘Abdallah al-Bajalī
and the rest of Bajila. He granted | a plot to al-Ash'ath b. Qays al-Kindi and
Kinda from the area of Juhayna up to (the plot of) the Banu Awd. A group from
Azd came and found an open space between Bajila and Kinda, and so they
settled there. Hamdan were scattered throughout al-Kufa. Tamim, Bakr, and
Asad came and settled on the outskirts. When (Umar) granted Abū ‘Abdallah
al-Jadali a plot among Bajila, Jarir b. ‘Abdallah said, “Why did this man, who
is not one of us, settle among us?” ‘Umar said to him, "Move to wherever you
think best" So he moved to Basra, but most of Ahmas left Jarir b. ‘Abdallah and
moved to the pasture-lands.*5? Since then, the tribal allotments have changed
and have become known by (the name of) the group that bought them and
built upon them.

To every tribe belonged a pasture ( jabbāna) named after them and their
notables: among them were the ‘Arzam pasture, the Bishr pasture, the Azd
pasture, the Salim pasture, the Murad pasture, the Kinda pasture, the pasture

456 ‘Ali(d. Ramadan 40/January 661), the Prophet Muhammad's cousin, was the fourth caliph
and the first Shri Imam.

457 Arabic Jabbanat Bishr (Bishr's Jabbana). The original sense of jabbana was "high, level
pasturage" (Lane, Lexicon, 2:377, s.v.). In the layout of the new Arab garrison cities, the
term designated “a piece of unbuilt land serving, inter alia, as a meeting place and a
cemetery" (P. Crone in £1’, s.v. Khitta). Thus one might translate, "Bishr's Pasture/Open
Space/Cemetery” Similarly, al-Ya‘qubi will refer shortly to Jabbanat Arzam, and so on for
each jabbāna (pasture/open space/cemetery).

458 Ahmas b. al-Ghawth b. Bajila was a subtribe of Bajila. See Wüstenfeld, Genealogische
Tabellen, 9:14. Arabic intaqalat Ahmas ... ila l-jabbana: again, in accordance with Arabic
usage, the definite article on al-jabbana may indicate that the word is being used generi-
cally, to indicate the kind of land to which the clan of Ahmas moved, or that they moved
to the Jabbàna (pasture/cemetery) later known by their name. What is being described is
a situation where ‘Umar granted lands to an interloper, al-Jadali, from the vast allotment
previously granted to the tribe of Bajila described earlier. This annoyed the leader of Bajila,
Jarir b. ‘Abdallah, a warlord active in the conquest of Iraq who might have expected better
treatment, and so he decamped to the other new garrison town of al-Basra. However, the
Ahmas segment of his tribe refused to go with him and instead moved to other unclaimed
pasture lands, presumably on the outskirts of Küfa.

THE SOUTHERN QUARTER 149

of the Sā'idīs, the green space (sahra’) of Uthayr, the green space of the Banu
Yashkur, and the green space of the Banu ‘Amir.

‘Umar b. al-Khattab wrote to Sa‘d, ordering him to make the streets of Kufa
50 black cubits wide. The marketplace was placed in the area extending from
the palace and the mosque to the house of al-Walid, to al-Qalla'ün, and to the
houses of Thaqif and Ashja'. There were rush mat awnings over it until the days
of Khalid b. ‘Abdallah al-Qasri,4°9 who rebuilt the markets, created a booth and
an arched portico for sellers of each sort of merchandise, and assigned its rental
income to the army—10,000 soldiers used to reside in Kufa.

The Stages from Kufa to Medina and Mecca

Whoever wishes to travel from Kufa to the Hijaz leaves by the southern road,
amid thriving stopping places and watering stations where there stand palaces
belonging to the caliphs of the Banū Hāshim.*% The first stage is al-Qadisiyya;
then comes al-Mughitha, then al-Qar‘a’, then Wāgisa, then al-‘Aqaba; then al-
Qa‘, then Zubala, then al-Shuquq, then Bitan, which is Qabr al-Ibādī—the four
latter places are dwelling places of the Banu Asad—and al-Tha'labiyya, which
is a walled compound (madina), Zarūd |, and al-Ajfur—encampments of the
Tayyi’. Next comes the compound of Fayd, which is the compound in which the
agents responsible for the Mecca road reside. Its people are Tayyi' and it is at the
foot of their mountain known as Salma. Then comes Tūz, which is also a Tayyi
area, then Samira’ and al-Hajir—the people of the latter two places are Qays,
mostly from the Banū ‘Abs. Then come al-Nagira and the mines of al-Nagira,
whose people are a mixture of Qays and others. From there, whoever wants to
go to Medina, the City of the Messenger of God— God's blessings and peace
be upon him—turns off toward Batn Nakhla; whoever is bound for Mecca
turns toward Mughithat al-Mawan, which is the territory of the Banü Muharib;
then comes al-Rabadha, then al-Salila, then al-‘Umagq, then the mines of the
Banu Sulaym, then Ufay‘iya, then al-Mislah, then Ghamra, from which one
commences the pilgrimage.^9! Then comes Dhat ‘Irq, then Bustan Ibn ‘Amir,
then Mecca.

459 The Umayyad governor of Iraq from 105/723 to 120/738. See the article by G. R. Hawting in
EI, s.v. Khalid b. ‘Abd Allah al-Kasri.

460 That is, belonging to the ‘Abbasid family.

461 The hajj: the pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim is enjoined to undertake at least once
in his or her lifetime. In fact, Dhat ‘rq, the next place mentioned by al-Ya‘qubi (about
94km north-east of Mecca), is the place where pilgrims from Iraq traditionally enter the
consecrated state known as ihram, donning the garments of a pilgrim and beginning to
observe the obligatory prohibitions. See the article by A. J. Wensinck in £7’, s.v. Ihrām.

312

313

150 THE GEOGRAPHY

The City of the Messenger of God—Gods Blessings and Peace be

upon Him
Whoever is bound for the City of the Messenger of God— God's blessing and
peace be upon him—heads from the stopping place called the mines of al-
Nagira to Batn Nakhl, then to al-'Usayla, then Tarafa, then to Medina. Medina,
or Tayba,^9? as the Messenger of God— God's blessing and peace be upon
him— named it, is situated on level land: green and open, yet having two hills,
one of them Uhud, the other ‘Ayr. Its populace are the Emigrants (Muhajirün),
the Supporters (Ansar), and the Successors (Tabitin).*®3 Also in it are Arab
tribes from (the confederation of) Qays b. ‘Aylan—from Muzayna, Juhayna,
Kināna, and others.

Medina has four streambeds whose waters come in the season of rains and
spring torrents from hills at a place called Harrat Bani Sulaym at a distance of
10 farsakhs from the city. These streambeds are Wadi Buthan, Greater ‘Aqiq,
Lesser 'Agīg, and Wadi Qanat. The water of these streams comes at the time
of spring torrents, and it all collects at a place called al-Ghaba and issues forth
into a streambed called | Wadi Idam. Then the Greater and Lesser 'Aqiq pour
into certain wells, among them Bi'r Ruma, which is Hafir Bani Mazin, and Bir
‘Urwa.* During the rest of the year, the people of Medina drink from these two
wells and from other wells not as well known as these two. There are also wells
that water the palm groves and fields, whose water is drawn by nadihas, which
are camels that work (drawing water) at irrigation wells.*65 At Medina there
are also springs flowing and running with water, among them 'Ayn al-Sawrayn,
‘Ayn Thaniyyat Marwan, ‘Ayn al-Khaniqayn, ‘Ayn Abi Ziyad, Khayf al-Qadi, ‘Ayn
Barad, and the Spring of the Wives of the Prophet—God's blessing and peace
be upon him. Most of the holdings of the populace are palm groves from which
they derive their living and their food. The city's revenues come from the tithes
on the dates and the alms-tax.

462 Tayba (Sweet Smelling) is one of the nicknames of Medina.

463 The Emigrants (Muhajirün) were the Meccan converts to Islam who followed the Prophet
from Mecca to his new headquarters at Medina in the year 1/622 or shortly thereafter. The
Supporters (Ansar) were the members of Medinan tribes (primarily Aws and Khazraj)
who became Muslims. The Successors (Tābi'ūn) were those of the second generation of
early Muslims.

464 Arabic bir = well; Hafir Bani Mazin = the Excavation (that is, Well) of the Banū Mazin.

465 Arabic zarānīg (pl. of zurnüq). For a description of these devices, see Lane, Lexicon, 3:1229,
s.v. zurnuq.

THE SOUTHERN QUARTER 151

The Great Sea is three days from Medina; its seaport is a place called al-Jar,^96
where merchant ships and ships carrying food from Egypt anchor.

It is six Arab miles from Medina to Quba’, where the halting places of al-Aws
and al-Khazraj used to be before Islam, and where the Messenger of God—
God's blessing and peace be upon him—halted before traveling on to Medina
itself. It was at Quba that he stayed— God's blessing and peace be upon him—
at the home of Kulthum b. al-Hidm, but then Kulthum died, so he stayed with
Sa‘d b. Khaythama al-Ansari. The house of Sa'd b. Khaythama is next to the
mosque of Quba’. Then the Prophet moved to Medina, where he settled its
feuds.^9? The people laid out the allotments (khitat)—before that, they had
lived dispersed in separate areas—and the built-up areas became connected,
so that they became a city.

It is ten stages from Medina to Mecca, and the route is heavily populated
and prosperous. The first stage ends four Arab miles from Medina, at Dhu l-
Hulayfa, where pilgrims leaving Medina enter into a state of consecration.468
From there one goes to al-Hufayra, where are the settlements of the Bant Fihr
of Quraysh, then to Malal, which at this time is the settlement of a group of
descendants of Jafar b. Abi Talib.*^9? Then one proceeds to al-Sayala, where
there is | a group of descendants of al-Hasan b. ‘Alī b. Abi Talib^70 —God's peace
be upon him—and where there was a group of Quraysh and others. Then one
proceeds to al-Rawha’, which is the settlement of Muzayna, and then to al-
Ruwaytha, where there is a group of descendants of Uthmān b. ‘Affan and other
Arabs.*7! Then one proceeds to al-‘Arj, which is another settlement of Muzayna,
and then to Suqya Bani Ghifar, which is the settlement of the Banu Kinana.
Then one proceeds to al-Abwa@, which is the settlement of Aslam, and then to

466 The old Red Sea port for Medina, south of modern Yanbu‘; see the article by A. Dietrich in
EI?, S.V. al-Djar.

467 Arabic kataba ma'aqilaha (he wrote its blood-moneys). See al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, Glossarium,
ccclxxi-ccclxxii, s.v. “Q-L. The document referred to is the so-called Constitution of Me-
dina; on which see Michael Lecker, The “Constitution of Medina”: Muhammad's First Legal
Document.

468 As part of the pilgrimage rituals, pilgrims enter a state of consecration symbolized by
donning a special seamless wrap worn as a pilgrimage garment called the ihram. While in
this state, pilgrims are also subject to certain restrictions: they may not shave, trim their
nails, hunt, uproot plants, etc.

469 Jafar b. Abi Talib, the brother of ‘Ali b. Abi Talib and cousin of the Prophet, died in a
military expedition against the Byzantines at Mu'ta in southern Jordan in the year 8/629.

470 Al-Hasan was the son of ‘Ali and the second Shīi Imam. Al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:266, dates
his death to Rabt 1 49 (April/May 669).

471 ‘Uthman, the third caliph, reigned 23/644 to 35/656.

314

315

152 THE GEOGRAPHY

al-Juhfa, where there is a group of the Banū Sulaym. Ghadir Khumm is two Arab
miles off the road from al-Juhfa.*^ Then one proceeds to Qudayd, where there
is the settlement of Khuza‘a, then to Usfān, and then to Marr al-Zahran, which
is the settlement of Kinana. From there one proceeds to Mecca.

Mecca and Its Dependencies
It is 225 Arab miles from Medina to Mecca. The pilgrims halt at these stations
and other watering-places, one group tarrying, another cutting their stay short,
according to their pace on the road, quick or slow. The people enter Mecca from
Dhū Tuwa, which is the lower part of Mecca, and by ‘Aqabat al-Madaniyyin,
which is the upper part of Mecca and from which the Messenger of God—
God's blessing and peace be upon him—-entered.^7?

Mecca is situated amid great mountains, and it contains streambeds that
come from ravines.^7* The mountains surrounding the city are: Abu Qubays,
the high mountain from which the sun rises upon the Sacred Mosgue;?”5
Qu‘ayqi‘an; Fādih; al-Muhassab; Thawr, near al-Safa; Hira’; Thabir; Tuffaha; al-
Matabikh; al-Falaq; al-Hajün; and Sagar.

Mecca's ravines are as follows: al-Hajün Ravine, Dar Mal Allah Ravine, al-
Battatin Ravine, Falaq Ibn al-Zubayr Ravine, Ibn ‘Amir | Ravine, al-Jawf Ravine,
al-Khūz Ravine, Adhakhir Ravine, Khatt al-Hizamiya Ravine, al-Safa Ravine, al-
Razzazin Ravine, al-Jubayriyyin Ravine, al-Jawf Ravine,*76 al-Jazzarin Ravine,
Zuqaq al-Nar Ravine, Jabal Tuffaha Ravine, al-Hajjaj Ravine, al-‘Attarin Ravine,
Great Jiyad Ravine, Little Jiyad Ravine, al-Nafar Ravine, the Ravine of Thawr and
Khiyam 'Ungūd, Yarrani Ravine, the Ravine of ‘Ali, Thaniyyat al-Madaniyyin
Ravine, and al-Hamam Ravine.

472 Ghadir Khumm is a pool near Mecca at which the Prophet stopped in the year 10/632 as
he returned from his Farewell Pilgrimage. According to tradition (reported by al-Ya‘qubi,
Ta’rikh, 2325), he is said to have spoken words indicating his closeness to ‘Ali. As a result,
Shi‘ites have taken the Prophet's speech at Ghadir Khumm as proof of 'Ali's status as Imam
and rightful leader of the Muslim community. The event is commemorated by many Shr‘ite
groups. See the article by L. Veccia Valieri in £1’, s.v. Ghadir Khumm.

473 Thatis, at the time of the conquest of Mecca in 8/630.

474 Arabic wa-hiya awdiyatun dhātu shib, literally, “and it is streambeds possessing ravines.’
The idea is that these streambeds (dry, except during the infrequent rains, when they
can turn into torrents) pass through the basin in which the city is built, but originate
back toward the mountains in deep ravines, gorges, or canyons (shi'āb, pl. of shi'b, which
appears as an element in the following toponyms).

475 Thatis, the mosque surrounding the Ka'ba.

476 This ravine is repeated in the Ms, as noted by De Goeje.

THE SOUTHERN QUARTER 153

The Sacred Mosque stands between Jiyad and Qu‘ayqi‘an. The last person to
restore the Sacred Mosque, adding to it and enlarging it so that the Ka‘ba stood
in the center of it, was al-Mahdr in the year 164.4” The Sacred Mosque covers an
area of 120,000 square cubits. The length of the Mosque from the Banu Jumah
Door to the Bant Hashim Door, which is near the green marker,*”8 is 404 cubits;
its width from the al-Nadwa Door to the al-Safa Door is 304 cubits. It boasts 484
marble columns, each pillar ten cubits in height, 498 arches, and 23 doors.

The Commander of the Faithful al-Mahdi built the two green markers that
stand between al-Safa and al-Marwa. There are 112 cubits between the two
markers; there are 754 cubits between al-Safa and al-Marwa.

The height of | the Ka'ba is 28 cubits. From the corner of the Black Stone to
the Syrian corner is 25 cubits; from the western corner in al-Hijr to the Syrian
corner, 22 cubits; from the western corner to the Yamānī corner, 25 cubits; from
the Yamani corner to the corner in which lies the Black Stone, 21 cubits.

The people of Mecca obtain drinking water from brackish wells and from
the ganāts that Umm Ja‘far, the daughter of Ja far the son of the Commander
of the Faithful al-Mansur, built during the caliphate of the Commander of the
Faithful al-Rashid.^?? She had them flow from the place called al-Mushash in
lead channels 12 Arab miles apart. The people of Mecca and the pilgrims thus
obtain water from the cistern of Umm Jafar.

Al-Tā'if is two stages from Mecca. AI-T2'if is the settlement of the tribe of
Thagīf; it is a dependency of Mecca subject to Mecca's governor.

Mecca’s dependencies are: Ru‘ayla al-Hawdha; Ru‘ayla’ al-Bayad, where lie
the mines of Sulaym, Hilal, and "Ugayl of Qays; Tabala, the people of which are
of Khath‘am; Najran, which belongs to the Banu l-Harith b. Ka‘b, and which
was their settlement in the Time of Ignorance;*%0 al-Sarat, the people of which

477 The ‘Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi reigned 158/775 to 169/785. On his reconstruction of the
Meccan sanctuary, see al-Ya‘qubi, Tarīkh, 2:476—477. 164A.H. = September 7, 780 — Au-
gust 25, 781.

478 This and the following lines about markers refer to the green pillars placed between the
hills of al-Safa and al-Marwa. These two places figure in the pilgrimage ritual of say
(running), in which (according to the most common understanding) pilgrims re-enact
Hagar's desperate search for water by running seven times between these two hills. The
green markers indicate places where pilgrims should begin and end their running.

479 Aganātis an underground water-channel. The one described here was built by the caliph
Harün al-Rashid's wife Zubayda (Umm Ja'far). For an account of her philanthropic work in
improving the water supply of Mecca, initiated in 193/808, see the article by Renate Jacobi
in EI, s.v. Zubayda bt. Djafar b. Abi Djafar al-Mansur.

480 AlJāhiliyya, that is, the period before the preaching of Islam by the Prophet Muhammad.

316

317

318

319

154 THE GEOGRAPHY

are of al-Azd; ‘Asham, which is a gold mine; Baysh; al-Sirrayn; al-Hasaba; ‘Athr;
Jedda, which is the sea-port; Ruhat; Nakhla; Dhat ‘Irq; Qarn; Usfān; Marr al-
Zahran; and al-Juhfa.

Of the Arab tribes around Mecca, there are, from Qays: Banū Ugayl, Banü
Hilal, Banū Numayr, and Banu Nasr; from Kināna: Ghifār, Daws, Banu Layth,
Khuza‘a, Khath‘am, Hakam, and al-Azd.

Mecca has many springs where the productive lands of the people lie, at
Marr al-Zahrān; ‘Arafa; Ruhat; Tathlīth, where there is a gold mine at ‘Asham; |
Dhū ‘Alaq; and Ukāz.

Its revenues come from the tithes and alms-taxes. Provisions are transported
to it from Egypt, to its port, which is Jedda.

From Mecca to Yemen

From Mecca to San? there are 21 stages: the first is al-Malakan; then Yalamlam,
where pilgrims from Yemen enter the state of ritual purity; then al-Lith; then
"Ulyab; then Qurba; then Qanawna; then Yaba; then al-Ma'gir; then Dankan;
then Zanif; then Rim; then Baysh; then al-"Ursh of Jazan; then al-Sharja; then al-
Sal‘; then Balha; then al-Mahjam; then al-‘Ara; then al-Marwa; then Sawadan;
and then San‘, the largest city, in which the governors and notables of the
Arabs reside.

Yemen is comprised of 84 mikhlafs, which are like the (administrative divi-
sions known as) kūras and madinas (in other provinces).^8! Their names are:
al-Yahsibayn; Yakla; Dhimar; Tamu’; ‘Iyan; Tamam; Hamal; Qudam; Khaywān;
Sinhan; Rayhān |; Jurash; Sa‘da; al-Akhruj; Majnah; Haraz; Hawzan; Qufa'a; al-
Wazīra; al-Hujr; al-Ma‘afir; Unna; al-Shawafi; Jublan; Wasab; al-Sakūn; Shar‘ab;
al-Janad; Maswar; al-Thujja; al-Mazra‘; Hayran; Ma’rib; Hadar; Ulgān; Rayshān;
Jayshan; al-Nihm; Baysh; Dankàn; Qanawna; Yaba; Zanīf; al--Ursh of Jazan;
al-Khasūf; al-Sa‘id; Balha, which is (also called) Mawr; al-Mahjam; al-Kadrz,
which is (also called) Saham; al-Ma‘qir, which is (also called) Dhuwal; Zabid;
Rima‘ |; al-Rakb; Bani Majid; Lahj; Abyan; Bayn al-Wādiyayn; Alhan; Hadra-
mawt; Mugrā; Hays; Harad; al-Haqlayn; ‘Ans; Bani ‘Amir; Ma'dhin; Humlan; Dhi
Jura; Khawlān; al-Sarw; al-Dathina; Kubayba; and Tabala.

481 Mikhlaf (pl. makhālīf) is a geographic term used specifically in Yemen. It apparently is
related to the Sabaic (Old South Arabian) term kA.l.f, meaning “vicinity of a town” See
the article by C. E. Bosworth in £7?, s.v. Mikhlāf. Al-Ya'qübi gives a similar list, with minor
variants, in the Tarikh, 1:227—228. Neither here nor in the parallel passage in the Ta’rikh do
these names add up to 84.

THE THIRD OR POLAR QUARTER WHICH IS THE NORTHERN QUARTER 155

The Islands of Yemen
Zayla‘, which is off al-Mandab; Dahlak, which is off Ghalafiqa and is the island
of the Negus;^?? Rahsu, which is off al-Dahlak; and Badi‘, which is off ‘Athr, the
port for Baysh, and is the territory of the tribe of Kinana.^9?

Its Ports
Aden, the port of San'a, where ships from China dock; Salahit; al-Mandab;
Ghalafiqa; al-Hirda; al-Sharja, which is Sharjat al-Qaris; ‘Athr; al-Hasaba; al-
Sirrayn; and Jedda |.

A List of the Arab Tribes Inhabiting Each Region of Yemen
Baysh: its populace is of al-Azd, and there is also a group from the Bant Kinana.
Al-Khasuf and al-Sa‘id: its populace is of Ha and Hakam. Al-Kadra' and al-
Mahjam: its populace is of ‘Akk. Al-Husayb: its populace is of Zubayd and of
Ash'ar. Hays is the main center (madina) for al-Rakb and the Bant Majid. Harad
is the main center for al-Ma‘afir. Al-Janad is the main center for Shar‘ab. The city
of Jayshan belongs to Himyar; Tabāla, to Khath‘am; Najran, to the Banu l-Harith
b. Ka'b; Sa‘da, to Khawlān; and Shar'ab, Qufa‘a, and al-Hujr are Kinda territory.

The Third or Polar Quarter Which is the Northern Quarter

Having mentioned (the Quarter of) Canopus, which is the Southern Quarter,
let us now mention the Quarter of Polaris, which is the Northern Quarter, and
the cities and rural districts that lie in it.484

482 The King of Abyssinia. The Dahlak archipelago was often held as an Abyssinian depen-
dency.

483 Itis difficult to identify these islands. Zayla‘, according to Yāgūt, Mujam al-Buldan, 2:966—
967, s.v., is the name of an African people and their land on the coast opposite Yemen.
The only island that fits our author's description is Mayyun, directly off Bab al-Mandab
between Yemen and Djibouti. Dahlakis the well-known archipelago off the coast of Eritrea
(presumably the island of Great Dahlak is what our author is identifying here). Rahsü (or
perhaps Rahsuwa) may perhaps be identified with Saso Island just opposite Jizàn in Saudi
Arabia. Badi‘ is almost certainly Bodhi Island, just where it should be off the coast north
of Baysh.

484 Onal-Ya‘qubi’s division of the world into quarters, see above, ed. Leiden, 268—269, where
he explains his use of the star Canopus (al-Tayman) to designate the Southern Quarter.

320

321

156 THE GEOGRAPHY

Whoever wishes to travel from Baghdad to al-Mada’in and the cities and
counties (tasāsīj) that adjoin it along the banks of the Tigris, and to Wasit,
Basra, al-Ubulla, al-Yamama, Bahrain, Oman, Sind, and India, leaves Baghdad
and travels along whichever bank of the Tigris he wishes, either the east or
the west. He goes through large towns inhabited by Persians, until he reaches
al-Mad@in, seven | farsakhs from Baghdad. Al-Mada'in was the residence of
the kings of the Persians, and the first to settle there was Anushirwan.485 Al-
Madā'in is composed of a number of cities on both banks of the Tigris. On the
east bank lies the city called al-‘Atiga (the Ancient), in which is the old White
Palace—no one knows who built it.*$6 The Congregational Mosque, which the
Muslims built when the city was conquered, is in al-"Atīga. Also on the east bank
is the city called Asbānbur in which is the great Audience Hall of Chosroés.487
The Persians have nothing else like it: its roof is 80 cubits high. Between these
two cities is a distance of one Arab mile. It was in this city that Salman al-
Faris! and Hudhayfa b. al-Yaman used to live;*%% their tombs are located there.
Adjoining these two cities is a city called al-Rūmiyya. It is said that the Romans
built it when they were victorious over the kingdom of Persia. It was there
that the Commander of the Faithful al-Mansur was staying when he killed Abū
Muslim.^8? The distance between these three cities is approximately two or
three Arab miles.

There he also describes his use of the star Polaris (al-Jady) to designate the Northern
Quarter. Al-Jady is thus the reading to be favored over the Leiden edition's al-jarbi in this
section. De Goeje adds the following note here (translated here from Latin): “From what
follows, it is clear that there has been an error in placement (of this section-title), for
the description of eastern Iraq, eastern Arabia and India belongs to the southern quarter.
Therefore the title, with the introductory remarks, should properly be located in the lost
part of the manuscript before the description of Armenia, etc."

485 The Sasanian king, Chosroés (Persian Khusraw, Arabic Kisrā) 1 Anūshirvān, ruled 531-
579 C.E. On al-Madā'in, see the article by M. Streck in £1’, s.v. al-Mada'in.

486 Al-Atiqa (the Ancient) is Ctesiphon; the White Palace was the old royal residence.

487 Asbànpur (Persian, Aspanbur) is the site of the Audience Hall of Chosroés (Arabic van
Kisrā), an imposing brick ruin, the only surviving structure from the Sasanian capital, and
one of the largest vaults ever constructed in antiquity.

488 Salman al-Fārisī was a Companion of the Prophet, reputed to have been the first Persian
convert to Islam. The site of his tomb in Iraq is now called Salman Pak. Hudhayfa b. al-
Yaman al-‘Absi, also a Companion of the Prophet, was an important commander during
the Muslim conquest of Iraq.

489 In 136/753, the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Mansur had his powerful—and possibly treacherous—
general Abü Muslim killed in his presence at al-Rümiyya. For an account of the event, see
al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:438—441.

THE THIRD OR POLAR QUARTER WHICH IS THE NORTHERN QUARTER 157

On the west bank of the Tigris is a city called Bahurasir and one called Sabat
al-Madā'in, one farsakh from Bahurasīr. The towns on the east bank of the Tigris
draw their water from the Tigris and those on the west bank from the Euphrates
by means of a canal called the King’s Canal, which feeds from the Euphrates.
All these cities were conquered in the year 14 by Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas.^99

From al-Madā'in to Wasit is five stages. The first of them is Dayr al-‘Aqil,
which is the main city of the Middle Nahrawan and in which reside a group of
leading non-Arab landowners (dahāgīn ashraf ). Next comes Jarjaraya, which is
the main city of the Lower Nahrawan and the residence of some Persian nobles;
from it came Raja’ b. Abi l-Dabhak and Ahmad b. al-Khasib.^?! Next comes al-
Nu'maniyya, which is the main city of the Upper Zàb; near it are the residences
of the Nawbakht family.*9? In the city of al-Nu'maniyya is Dayr Hizgil, in
which the mentally ill are treated.*93 Next comes Jabbul, which is a prosperous,
ancient city. Next comes Madaraya |, which is an ancient residence of non-
Arab nobles. Next comes al-Mubarak, an ancient canal. After al-Nu‘maniyya,
on the west bank of the Tigris, lies the town known as Nu‘mabadh, which is
a river port from which provisions are transferred from the Tigris to the Nil
Canal. Next comes Nahr Sabus, which is on the west bank and lies across the
river from the city of al-Mubarak, on the east bank. From there, one travels
by road to the counties of Badaraya and Bakusaya, and then to the Bridges of
Khayzuran, traveling along the east bank. Next comes Fam al-Silh, where the
residences of al-Hasan b. Sahl are located. It was to this place that al-Mamun
traveled when he visited al-Hasan b. Sahl and consummated his marriage to
al-Hasan's daughter Buran.*9*

Next comes Wasit, which is composed of two cities on either bank of the
Tigris: the old city is on the east bank of the Tigris, and al-Hajjaj had a (new)
city built on the west bank and built a bridge of boats between them.*?5 In

490 14A.H. = February 25, 635 — February 13, 636.

491 Raja b. Abi I-Dahhàk was an ‘Abbasid financial administrator and secretary under the
caliph al-Ma'mün (r. 198—218/813—833). Ahmad b. al-Khasib was vizier under the caliph
al-Muntasir (r. 247-248 /861-862).

492 On this family of courtiers, astrologers, theologians, and littérateurs of ‘Abbasid times, see
the article by L. Massignon in £1’, s.v. Nawbakht.

493 The asylum was well known. A report of a visit to it by the littérateur al-Mubarrad during
the caliphate of al-Mutawakkil can be found in al-Mastūdī, Murüj, 5:9-10 (§ 2883-2884).

494 Onthis wedding in Ramadan 210 (December 825 - January 826), which became famous for
its opulent 17-day-long celebration, see the article by Katherine H. Lang in £73, s.v. Buran.
Al-Ya‘qubi gives an account of it in Ta’rikh, 2:559.

495 Al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf was the Umayyad governor of Iraq and later of the East more generally,
from 75/694 to 95/713. On the city of Wasit, see the article in E1?, s.v. Wasit.

322

323

158 THE GEOGRAPHY

this western city, al-Hajjaj built his palace and the Green Dome, which is called
the Green (Dome) of Wasit,^?6 and the Congregational Mosque. It has city
walls around it. The governors after al-Hajjaj resided there. Yazid b. Umar b.
Hubayra al-Fazari was there when he was routed by the troops of Qahtaba, and
he fortified himself there until he was given safe-conduct.*97 The residents of
these two cities are a mixture of Arabs and non-Arabs. Those who are of the
(non-Arab) landholding class (dahāgīn) reside in the eastern city, which is the
city of Kaskar. The land tax of Wasit is included in the land tax of the counties
of the Sawad. The reason it was named Wasit (Equidistant) is that from it to
Basra is 50 farsakhs, to Kufa 50, to al-Ahwaz 50, and to Baghdad 50; therefore
it was called Wasit. Adjacent to it is Nahraban, where the raw fiber from which
Armenian cloth is made is produced. From there it is carried to Armenia, and
there it is spun and woven.

Next one reaches ‘Abdasi, and then al-Madhar, which is the main city of
Maysan. The city of al-Madhar is on the Tigris also. Adjoining al-Madhar is the
rural district (kura) of Abazqubadh |—the main city is called Fasa. From Wasit
to Basra the route runs through the Bata'ih Marshes. They are called Bata@ih*9®
because a number of watercourses come together there. One travels from the
Bata'ih via the One-Eyed Tigris (Dijla al--Awrā'),*99 and then one arrives at Basra
and anchors on the banks of the Canal of Ibn Umar.

Basra
Basra was the chief city of the world, the storehouse of its commodities and
goods. It is an oblong city, its area being two farsakhs by one farsakh according
to the original plan that was used to lay it out at the time of its conquest in the
reign of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab in the year 17.59? The inner part of the city, which
is the part that faces north, runs along two canals. The first is a canal known as
the Canal of Ibn ‘Umar, which is the canal ....501

496 To distinguish it from the Green Dome, the palace of the Umayyads in Damascus.

497 Yazid b. ‘Umar was the last Umayyad governor of Iraq, until early 132/749, when he was
forced by ‘Abbasid troops under the command of the general Qahtaba to fortify himself
in Wasit, only to surrender later that year. See al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:411-412.

498 Bata’h (pl. of batha’) means a broad, low-lying watercourse.

499 InalYa'qübi's time, both the Tigris and the Euphrates flowed into the swamps (al-Batā'ih)
about 60 miles below Wasit. The swamps, in turn, drained into the Persian Gulf by the
single waterway called Dijla al-Awra (One-eyed Tigris). See the article by R. Hartmann in
EI’, sw. Didjla.

500 17A.H. = January 23, 638 - January u, 639.

501 Here there is a long gap in the text. The Leiden editor added the following footnote

THE WESTERN QUARTER 159

[The Western Quarter]

... and Kharshana 500 horsemen, Salūgiya 500 horsemen, Tarāgiya 5,000 horse-
men, Magadūniya 3,000 horsemen.5° Thus the entire army of the land of the
Romans59?—troops stationed in the rural districts (rasātīg) and towns—is
40,000 horsemen. Of these men not a single soldier is paid a regular salary;
rather, they station men in every area who go to battle with their patricius
(bitriq) in time of war.

We have already mentioned some accounts of the land of the Romans, its
manpower, cities, fortresses, ports, mountains, valleys, watercourses, lakes, and
places for launching attacks upon it in another book.5°4 Here now are the
routes to the frontier regions (al-thughur) and that which is adjacent to them.

Whoever wishes to travel from Aleppo by the main road to the west leaves
Aleppo for the city of Qinnasrin, and then to a place called Tall Mannas, which
is the first dependency (amal) of the military district of Hims.505

(translated here from Latin): Ten folia following in the Ms are missing, so that the seventh
quire is now gone. The part we lack contained the end of the description of Basra, the
description of eastern Arabia, Khuzistan, Persia, and India, then the whole northern
quarter [cf. note 484 above], and finally the beginning of the western quarter." Parts of
the lost section will be found in the "Fragments" section, below.

502 Onecaninferthat the missing section dealt with the Byzantine-Muslim frontier, including
the military district ( jund) of Qinnasrin and the two frontier regions of al-Thughür and
al-Awasim. It also appears to have given details about Byzantine military arrangements,
including, as these figures suggest, troop deployments in Anatolia. These may reflect the
Byzantine system of military themes (districts). "Kharshana" is the Charsianon theme,
"Salüqiya" is the Seleucia theme, "Tarāgiya” apparently stands for the Thracesion theme—
these lying in Anatolia —while "Magadūniya” stands for Macedonia. Some other excerpts
from this missing section appear in the "Fragments" section, below.

503 Arabic al-Rum. Most historians writing in English would call them Byzantines; Arabic,
however, maintains the self-designation of the rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire,
who continued to call themselves Romans long after the administrative language had
become Greek. Translators often render a/-Rūm as ‘Greeks, mistakenly implying that these
areas were populated by ethnic Greeks. In the text, al-Rum will be rendered ‘Roman(s).
In the footnotes, either ‘Roman’ or ‘Byzantine’ will be used according to context and
convenience.

504 The other book to which al-Ya'qübi refers apparently is not his History, but a separate
monograph on Byzantium. It has not survived.

505 A jund was one of the five military districts into which the province of al-Sham (Syria)

324

160 THE GEOGRAPHY

The Military District (Jund) of Hims
Thence one travels to the city of Hama,5°® an old city on a river called the
Orontes.9?7 The populace of this city is a group from the tribal faction of Yemen,
and the majority are from Bahra’ and Tanūkh. From the city of Hama one
proceeds to the city of al-Rastan, then to the city of Hims.

The city of Hims is one of the most spacious cities of Syria, and it has a
great river from which the people obtain their water.*% The people of of Hims
are entirely from the tribal faction of Yemen: from Tayyi’, Kinda, Himyar, Kalb,
Hamdan, and other tribes of Yemen. Abū ‘Ubayda b. al-Jarrāh*9 conquered the
city by treaty in the year 16,5!° but the city rebelled after the conquest, so he
made a treaty with its people a second time.

The subdistricts (āgālīm) of Hims include: Al-Tamah,5" whose people are
from Kalb; al-Rastan; Hama, which is a city on a great river and whose people
are from Bahra and Tanūkh; Sawwarān, where there is a group from Iyād;
Salamiyya, a city in the hinterland built by ‘Abdallah b. Salih b. ‘Alī b. ‘Abdallah
b. ‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib,?? who dug a canal to it and irrigated the soil
in order to cultivate saffron and whose populace consists of descendants of
‘Abdallah b. Salih al-Hāshimī, their clients (mawālī), and a mixture of people
who are merchants and farmers; Tadmur (Palmyra), an old city of marvelous
construction, said to have been built by Sulayman b. Dawud the prophet—
God's peace be upon him—because of its many wonderful monuments and

was divided. See the article by D. Sourdel in £7°, s.v. Djund. Al-Ya'gūbīs original text also
included a description of the jund of Qinnasrin in the north, but that section is missing.
Some passages from this lost Qinnasrin section have been included in the "Fragments"
section, below.

506 Arabic Hamat or Hamāh; see the article by D. Sourdel in in £1’, s.v. Hamat.

507 AlYa'qübi gives the name of the Orontes river in a form (al-Urunt) taken directly from
Greek. The more common name of the river in Arabic is al-‘Asi. See the article by R. Hart-
mann in E72, s.v. al-‘Asi.

508 On Hims (ancient Emessa, modern Homs), see the article by N. Elisséeff in E7?, s.v. Hims.
The river is the Orontes.

509 Abū Ubayda was an early Companion of the Prophet and one of the principal comman-
ders of the Muslim conquest of Syria and Palestine. See the article by Khalil Athamina in
E13, s.v. Abū ‘Ubayda ‘Amir b. al-Jarrah.

510 16A.H. = February 2, 637 — January 22, 638.

511 De Goeje notes that the reading of this name is uncertain. In his note on the relevant
passage in Ibn Khurdadhbih, he suggests an alternate reading: al-Bamah. See Ibn Khur-
dadhbih, Kitab al-Masālik wa'l-mamālik, 76.

512 ‘Abdallah b. Salih was a prominent member of a branch of the ‘Abbasid ruling family noted
especially for their ties to Syria.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 161

whose people are from Kalb; Tall Mannas, a settlement of Iyād, built as a
residence by Ibn Abi Du'ad;?? Ma‘arrat al-Nu‘man, an old city in ruins, whose
people are from Tanükh; al-Bara, whose people are from Bahra’; Famiya,>* an
old Greek city in ruins on a large lake, its people being from ‘Udhra and Bahra’;
the city of Shayzar, whose people are a group from Kinda; the city of Kafartab;
and al-Atmim, which is an old city whose people are a group from the tribal
faction of Yemen, from all the tribes, but mostly from Kinda.

There are four cities on the seacoast of the military district of Hims: Latakia,
whose people are a group from | Yemen, from the tribes of Salih, Zubayd,
Hamdan, Yahsub, and others; Jabala, whose people are from Hamdan, but
which also includes groups from Qays and from Iyad; Bulunyas, with a mixed
population; and Antartūs,”!5 whose people are a group from Kinda. The usual
official land tax from Hims, excluding royal estates, is 220,000 dinars.

The Military District of Damascus
From Hims to the city of Damascus is four stages. The first stage is Jusiya,
which is in (the military district of) Hims. The second is Qara, which is the
first dependency (amal) of the military district of Damascus. The third is al-
Qutayyifa, where there are residences that belonged to Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik
b. Marwān.!6 From there one continues to the city of Damascus.

Whoever travels from Hims along the Post Road (Tariq al-Barid) takes it from
Jüsiya to al-Biqa‘, then to the city of Baalbek, which is one of the most majestic
cities of Syria. In it there isa wondrous building of stone and a wondrous spring
from which issues a great river. Inside the city are gardens and orchards. From
the city of Baalbek one proceeds to ‘Aqabat al-Rumman (Pomegranate Pass),
then to the city of Damascus.

The city of Damascus is an old, majestic city.*'7 It was the main city of Syria in
the Days of Ignorance (al-Jahiliyya) as well as the Days of Islam. It has no peer in
all the military districts of Syria in the number of its waterways and buildings.
Its main river is called the Barada. The city of Damascus was conquered in the
caliphate of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab in the year 14 by Abu ‘Ubayda b. al-Jarrāh, who

513 Ahmad b. Abi Du'ad (d. 240/854) was chief judge under the ‘Abbasids, first under al-
Mu'tasim (r. 218/833-227/842) and continuing until the year 232/846, in the reign of al-
Mutawakkil.

514 Classical Apamea.

515 De Goeje notes that the Ms clearly marks this toponym as "Anzarzüs" instead of its more
common name.

516 Umayyad caliph, reigned 105/724-125/743.

517 On the city of Damascus, see the article by N. Elisséeff in EI”, s.v. Dimashk.

325

326

162 THE GEOGRAPHY

entered it by one of its gates, called the Jabiya Gate, under a peace agreement
(sulh) after a year's siege.5!® Khalid b. al-Walid entered from another of its gates,
called the Eastern Gate, without a peace agreement, but Abu ‘Ubayda extended
the treaty status to the entire city. They wrote to ‘Umar b. al-Khattab and he
confirmed what Abū | ‘Ubayda had done.5!?

Damascus was a residence of the kings of Ghassan, and the city contains the
remains of buildings that once belonged to the family of Jafna.5?° The majority
of the people of the city of Damascus belong to the tribal grouping of Yemen.
There is also a group from Qays and the residences of the Bana Umayya. Their
palaces make up most of the residences. There is also the Green (Dome) of
Mu'āwiya, which is the Governor's Residence,2! and its mosque. None more
beautiful than it exists in Islam in terms of its marble and gilded decoration.
Al-Walid b. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan built it during his caliphate.922

The military district of Damascus has the following rural districts (kuwar):
Al-Ghūta, whose people are from Ghassan and from the tribal faction of Qays,
but who also include a group from Rabi‘a; Hawran, whose main city is Busra5?3
and whose people are a group from the Banu Murra of Qays, except for al-
Suwayda, where there is a group from Kalb; al-Bathaniyya, whose main city is
Adhri‘at and whose people are a group from the tribal faction of Yemen and
a group from Qays; al-Zahir, whose main city is Amman; and al-Ghawr, whose
main city is Jericho.5*4 These last two cities comprise the territory of al-Balgā.

518 Accordding to al-Tabarī, Ta'rikh, 2:2146, Damascus fell in Rajab of the year 14 (August-
September 635).

519 AlYa'qübrs point is to affirm that Damascus's status under Islamic law was that of prop-
erty taken by treaty, not by conquest. This was something of a dilemma as, according to
traditional accounts of the conquest of the city (which al-Ya'qübi follows), half of the city
was conquered by force by Khalid b. al-Walid, while the other half simultaneously surren-
dered peaceably to Abū ‘Ubayda.

520 The clan of Jafna (Arabic Al Jafna) was one of the ruling clans of the Ghassānids. The
Ghassanids were Christian Arabs who functioned as auxiliaries for the Byzantine empire
on its Syrian frontier, just as the Lakhmids in Iraq functioned for the Sasanians. See the
article by Irfan Shahid in £7’, s.v. Ghassan.

521 Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan (r. 41/661-60/680) was governor of Syria and founder and first
caliph of the Umayyad dynasty. His primary residence, and that of his descendants, was
Damascus, where his green-domed palace was a prominent landmark.

522 That is, al-Walīd I, ruled 86/705-96/715.

523 On the history of Busra (ancient Bostra), see the article by A. Abel in £7’, s.v. Bosra.

524 Arabic Rihà, corrected by another hand in the Ms to Arīhā, the longer form of the name.
See the article by E. Honigmann in £7? s.v. Riha.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 163

Its people are a group from Qays, and there is also a group from Quraysh. Then
there is Jibal,525 whose its main city is ‘Arandal and whose people are a group
from Ghassan, Balqayn, and others. Then there are Ma'ab and Zughar, which
have a mixed population. Near them is a village called Mu'ta, where Ja'far b.
Abi Talib, Zayd b. Haritha, and ‘Abdallah b. Rawaha were killed.526 Then there
is al-Sharat, whose main city is Adhruh and whose people are clients of the
Banu Hashim. In it lies al-Humayma, the residence of ‘Ali b. ‘Abdallah b. al-
‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib and his descendants.5?? Then there is al-Jawlan,528
whose main city is Baniyas and whose people are a group from Qays, most of
them Banu Murra, but also a small group from the tribal faction of Yemen. Then
there is Jabal Sanir, whose people are from Banu Dabba, | but where there is also
a group from Kalb. Then there is Baalbek, whose people are a group of Persians,
and in whose outskirts are a group from the tribal faction of Yemen. Then there
is Jabal al-Jalil, whose people are a group from ‘Amila. Then there is Lebanon,
(whose main city is) Sidon, where there are groups from Quraysh and from the
tribal grouping of Yemen.529

The military district of Damascus has the following rural districts (kuwar)
along the seacoast: the rural district of ‘Irqa, which has an old city, where there
are a group of Persians who had been transferred there and also a group from
the Banu Hanifa tribe of Rabi‘a; the city of Tripoli, whose people are a group
of Persians that Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan moved there—they have a wonderful
port that can harbor a thousand ships; Jubayl, Sidon, and Beirut—the people

525 More frequently al-Jibal (with the article), an area southeast of the Dead Sea (not to be
confused with Jibal province in northwestern Iran); see the article by J. Sourdel-Thomine
in EP, s.v. al-Djibal.

526 The Battle of Mu'ta, in southern Jordan, took place in Jumada 1 of the year 8 (August-
September 629) and was the first Muslim military encounter with the Byzantines. The
Muslims were defeated, and three of the commanders whom the Prophet sent to lead the
expedition were killed, including his cousin Ja'far and the poet Ibn Rawaha. Al-Ya‘qubi
gives an account of the expedition in Ta’rikh, 2:66—67.

527 ‘Alib. ‘Abdallah al-Hashimi was the grandfather of the first two ‘Abbasid caliphs, al-Saffah
and al-Mansür. The Umayyad caliph al-Walid 1 exiled him to his estate at al-Humayma
for plotting against the Umayyads, and he died there in 117/735 or 18/736. The estate
subsequently became a hub of activity for the ‘Abbasid cause under his son, Muhammad.

528 The Golan in southwestern Syria; see the article by D. Sourdel in £7’, s.v. al-Djawlan.

529 The Leiden text reads: wa-Lubnan Sayda wa-bihā qawm min Quraysh wa-min al-Yaman.
Given the repetitive structuring of the sentences in this section, one can assume that
the phrase wa-madīnatuhā (and its city is) has been dropped out between the toponyms
"Lubnan" and “Sayda.’

327

328

164 THE GEOGRAPHY

of all these rural districts are a group of Persians that Mu‘awiya b. Abi Sufyan
moved there.

Abū 'Ubayda b. al-Jarrah conquered all the rural districts (kuwar) of Damas-
cus in the caliphate of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab in the year 14.59? The land tax of
(the military district of) Damascus, excluding royal estates, amounts to 300,000
dinars.

The Military District of Jordan”?!

From the city of Damascus to the military district of Jordan is four stages.
The first is Jasim, a dependency ('amal) of Damascus; then Khisfin, also a
dependency of Damascus; then Fiq, with its well-known pass. One goes from
there to the city of Tiberias,°32 which is the main city of (the military district
of) Jordan. It is at the foot of a mountain on a majestic lake from which flows
the famous river Jordan. In the city of Tiberias there are hot springs that flow
summer and winter without interruption, so that hot water flows into their
bath-houses without their needing fuel for this purpose. The people of the city
of Tiberias are tribesmen from the Ash'ar, who are the majority there.

The military district of Jordan has the following rural districts (kuwar): Tyre,
which is the main city of the coast. The arsenal (dar al-sinā'a) from which the
warships of the regime (su/tan) sail to raid the Greeks is located there. The city is
fortified and majestic and is inhabited by a mixture of peoples. The city of Acre
is also on the coast. Qadas is one of the most majestic of rural districts. Then
come Baysan, Fahl, Jarash, and al-Sawad: the people of these rural districts are
a mixture of | Arabs and non-Arabs.

The rural districts of Jordan were conquered in the caliphate of ‘Umar b.
al-Khattab by Abū ‘Ubayda b. al-Jarrah, except for the city of Tiberias, whose
people sued for a treaty of peace. Other rural districts of the military district
of Jordan were conquered by Khalid b. al-Walid and ‘Amr b. al-As533 under
the authority of Abū ‘Ubayda b. al-Jarrah in the year 14.534 The land tax of the
military district of Jordan, excluding royal estates, amounts to 100,000 dinars.

530 14A.H. = February 25, 635 — February 13, 636.

531 Foran overall account of the Islamic administrative area of Jordan (al-Urdunn), which
was only partly coterminous with the modern state of Jordan, see the article by F. Buhl, C.
E. Bosworth, P. M. Cobb, C. E. Bosworth, and Mary C. Wilson in £7’, s.v. al-Urdunn.

532 Arabic Tabariyya; see the article by M. Lavergne in E12, s.v. Tabariyya.

533 'Amrb.al-Ās (d. c. 42/663) was an early Muslim commander best known as the conqueror
and first governor of Egypt. Foran overview of his life, see the article by Khaled M. G. Keshk
in £73, s.v. ‘Amr b. al-Ās.

534 14A.H. = February 25, 635 — February 13, 636.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 165

The Military District of Palestine??5
From the military district of Jordan to the military district of Palestine is three
stages. The old main city of Palestine was a city called Ludd. However, when
Sulayman b. ‘Abd al-Malik became caliph,536 he had the city of al-Ramla built;
he destroyed the city of Ludd and transferred the people of Ludd to al-Ramla.537

Al-Ramla is the main city of Palestine. It has a small river, from which its
people obtain drinking water, and the Abü Futrus river is about 12 Arab miles
from the city. The people of al-Ramla drink water from wells and from cisterns
into which the rainwater flows. The people of the city are a mixture of Arabs
and non-Arabs, and its non-Muslims?38 are Samaritans.

Palestine has the following districts (kuwar): Īliyā, which is Jerusalem,539 in
which are the monuments?^? of the prophets— God's peace be upon them;
Ludd,°*! whose main city is still standing in its original state, but in ruins;
‘Amwas;°4? Nablus, an old city, site of the two holy mountains,?^? under which
lies a city carved in the rock, | its people being a mixture of Arabs, non-Arabs,
and Samaritans; Sebastia,*** which is a dependency of Nablus; Caesarea,5^5 a

535 On the history of Islamic Palestine (Filastin), see the article by D. Sourdel in £1?, s.v.
Filastin.

536 The Umayyad caliph Sulayman b. ‘Abd al-Malik ruled from 96—99 (February 715 to Septem-
ber 717).

537 As noted also in al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:351. Ludd is ancient Lydda (modern Lod). On al-
Ramla, see the article by E. Honigmann in £7’, s.v. al-Ramla.

538 Arabic dhimmatuha, (its dhimmīs), that is, its non-Muslims monotheists granted a prom-
ise (dhimma) of protection against the payment of a poll tax. See the article by Yohanan
Friedman in E13, s.v. Dhimma.

539 The Arabic name used here, Bayt al-Maqdis (House of the Sanctuary), echoes the Aramaic
Bet Magdšā and the Hebrew Bayt ha-Migdāsh, both designations of the Temple. A shorter
form of the same name is al-Quds, the usual name for Jerusalem in older and modern
Arabic. Jerusalem was also called Iliya, from its Roman name Aelia. See the article by S.
D. Goitein and O. Grabar in E12, s.v. al-Kuds.

540 Arabic athar al-anbiya’, literally, “the vestiges, or relics, of the prophets.”

541 Arabic Ludd corresponds to ancient Lydda (Hebrew Lod); see the article by M. Sharon in
EI’, s.v. Ludd.

542 On Amwās (or ‘Amawas, ancient Emmaus), see the article by J. Sourdel-Thomine in £7?,
s.v. Amwās.

543 That is, Mount Gerizim in the south and Mount Ebal in the north. On the role of these
two mountains among the Jews and Samaritans, see Deuteronomy 27; on Nablus, see the
article by F. Buhl in £7°, s.v. Nabulus.

544 Arabic Sabastiyya; also known as Samaria.

545 Arabic Qaysariyya; see the article by M. Sharon in E7?, s.v. Kaysariyya, Kaysariyya.

329

166 THE GEOGRAPHY

city on the coast, one of the most impregnable cities of Palestine, and the last
of the region’s cities to be conquered, namely by Mu‘awiya b. Abi Sufyan in the
caliphate of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab; and Yubna,°*¢ which is an old city on a hill. It is
this city of which it is related that Usama b. Zayd said: “When the Messenger of
God— God's blessing and peace be upon him—sent me (to Syria on campaign),
he gave me an order, saying: ‘Go to Yubna early in the morning, and burn it
down.”517 The people of this city are a group of Samaritans. Then there are:
Jaffa on the coast, which the people of al-Ramla use as a port; Bayt Jibrin, an
old city whose people are a group from Judham and near which is the Dead
Sea, from which is extracted humara, which is bitumen (mumiya); 'Asqalan*^8
on the coast; Gaza??? on the coast, it being the first part of the third clime and
containing the tomb of Hashim b. ‘Abd Manaf.5° The populace of the military
district of Palestine is a mixture of Arabs from Lakhm, Judhàm, 'Amila, Kinda,
Qays, and Kinana.

The land of Palestine was conquered in the year 16 after a lengthy siege
that lasted until ‘Umar b. al-Khattab went out (from Medina) and granted a
treaty to the populace of the district (Aura) of Īliyā, which is Bayt al-Maqdis
(Jerusalem).**! They had said: “We will not agree to a treaty except with the
caliph himself" So he went to them and granted them a treaty. Most of the rural
districts of Palestine were conquered, except for Caesarea; Abu ‘Ubayda b. al-
Jarrah made Mu‘awiya b. Abi Sufyan his deputy over them, and he conquered

546 Ancient Iamnia, Hebrew Yavneh.

547 In the last year of his life, Muhammad sent Usama b. Zayd in an expedition against the
Byzantines to avenge the defeat the Muslims had suffered at Mut'a, where Usama b. Zayd's
father had been killed. Because of Muhammad's sudden illness and death, the expedition
did not leave until after Abū Bakr had become caliph. Accounts may be found in al-Tabari,
Ta’rikh, 117941797, 1845—1851, and al-Waqidi, Maghāzī, 3117-1127. In neither account is
the place to be attacked and burned called Yubna. In al-Tabari it is called Abil, and in al-
Wāgidī it is called Ubnā, and is located near Mu'ta, where Zayd's father had been killed.
De Goeje's note in the Leiden edition of the Geography discusses how an original reading
of Abil may have been transformed into Yubna.

548 On 'Asgalān (modern Ashkelon), see the article by Amalia Levanoni in E73, s.v. 'Asqalan.

549 On Gaza (Arabic, Ghazza), see the article by D. Sourdel in £7’, s.v. Ghazza.

550 Great-grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad. He is said to have died in Gaza while
engaged in trade there.

551 According to al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 1:2408, Jerusalem and its region were conquered in Rabi‘ 11
of the year 16 (May 637).

THE WESTERN QUARTER 167

Caesarea in the year 18.55? The total land tax of the military district of Palestine
in addition to that accruing from the (royal) estates amounts to 300,000 dinars.

Whoever wishes to travel by road from Syria via Palestine to Mecca passes
through rugged, | rough mountainous terrain until he reaches Ayla59? and then
Madyan.59^ Then he continues along the road with the people from Egypt and
the Maghrib.

Egypt and Its Rural Districts**5

Whoever leaves Palestine heading west, bound for Egypt, leaves al-Ramla for
the city of Yubna and then to the city of ‘Asqalan on the coast. Then he
continues to the city of Gaza, also on the coast, and to Rafah, which is the last
of the dependencies (a'mal) of Syria (al-Sha'm).596

Then he continues to a place called al-Shajaratan,5>’ which marks the border
of Egypt, and then to al-‘Arish,558 which is the first of the outposts (masalih)
and dependencies (a'mal) of Egypt. Al-‘Arish is inhabited by tribesmen from
Judham and other tribes and is a coastal town. One continues from al-‘Arish to
a town called al-Baqqara, and from there to a town called al-Warrada amid hills
of sand.

Then one continues to al-Farama, which is the first city of Egypt. It has a
mixed population. It is three Arab miles between the city and the Green Sea.559
From al-Farama to a town called Jurjir is one stage, and from it to a town called

552 As al-Tabarī, Ta'rikh, 1:2579, notes, the dates for the conquest of Caesarea are given vari-
ously as 16, 19, and 20 (he does not mention 18, and places the narrative of the conquest
under the year 15). 18A.H. = January 12, 639 — January 1, 640. The length of the siege
may have been responsible for the variation in dates. The article by M. Sharon in E72, s.v.
Kaysariyya, Kaysariyya, gives Shawwal 19 (September-October 640) as the date.

553 On Ayla (Biblical Elath, modern Eilat), see the article by Michael Lecker in E13, s.v. Ayla.

554 On the town of Madyan in northwestern Arabia, see the article by F. Buhl and C. E. Bos-
worth in in EI? s.v. Madyan Shu‘ayb.

555 The material on Egypt in the Fragments indicates that this section may originally have
been longer.

556 On Rafah, see the article by M. A. Bakhit in EI, s.v. Rafah. By “last of the dependencies
of Syria,’ al-Ya‘qubi means that Rafah was close to the border between Egypt and the four
military districts into which Greater Syria (al-Sha'm) was divided, one of which was the
military district ( jund) of Palestine, to which Rafah belonged.

557 The name means Two Trees; no precise location is known.

558 Onal-Arish, see the article by F. Buhl in £7?, s.v. al-Arish.

559 That is, the Mediterranean.

330

331

168 THE GEOGRAPHY

Faqus is one stage. From Faqus one goes to a town called Ghayfa, and then to
al-Fustat.560

Al-Fustat used to be known as Babylon,*%! and it is the place now known as
al-Qasr (the Palace).59? When ‘Amr b. al-‘As conquered Babylon in the caliphate
of ‘Umar b. al-Khattāb in the year 20,96? the Arab tribes marked out allotments
around the tent ( fustát) of ‘Amr b. al-‘As, and for that reason it was named al-
Fustat. Then they spread out over the land and marked out allotments along the
Nile—each Arab tribe marked out its allotment in the place assigned to it. ‘Amr
b. al-As built the congregational mosque and the governor's residence, known
as Dar al-Raml (Sand House), | and set the markets around the congregational
mosque on the east bank of the Nile. He established a guard post (mahras)
and a commandant ('arīf) for every tribe. He built the fortress of Giza on the
west bank of the Nile, made it a garrison for the Muslims, and settled tribesmen
there. He wrote announcing this to ‘Umar b. al-Khattab, who wrote back saying,
“Do not put any body of water between me and the Muslims." ‘Amr conquered
the districts (kuwar) of Egypt by treaty, except for Alexandria. He continued
fighting the people of that city for three years, conquering it in the year 23,564
for there was no other city like it in the country in impregnability, size, and
materiel.

The rural districts (kuwar) of Egypt are named for their main cities, since
every district has a main city noted for some particular feature. Among the
cities and rural districts of Upper Egypt are: the city of Memphis, standing, but
in ruins (the people of Egypt say that it is the city in which Pharaoh lived); the
city of Büsir Kuridis; the city of Dilas, after which Dilasi bridles are named; the
city of al-Fayyūm (in earlier times people used to say “Egypt and al-Fayyūm”
due to the importance of al-Fayyūm and its extensive agriculture—it produces

560 On al-Fustāt, just south of modern Cairo and the first city to be founded in Egypt by its
Muslim conquerors, see the article by J. Jomier in £7’, s.v. al-Fustat.

561 Arabic, Bābalyūn (as emended by the Leiden editor): the Ms reads Bab al-Nūn, as if the
copyist understood it to mean “Gate of the Fish.” Babylon was the old Roman fortress at
the head of the Delta, now located in Old Cairo. The name probably goes back to ancient
Egyptian Pi-Hapi-n-On, which the Greeks identified with the name of the Mesopotamian
city of Babylon. See the article by C. H. Becker in ET, s.v. Babalyün.

562 This may refer to the palace built by Ahmad b. Tülün in his new capital, al-Qata'i, north
of al-Fustat. The palace was demolished after the fall of the Tülünids in 292/905, but the
mosque, completed in 265/879, still stands. See the article by J. Jomier in £7°, s.v. al-Fustat.

563 The fortress of Babylon fell to the Arabs on 21 Rabi‘ 11 20 (April g, 641).

564 23A.H. = November 18, 643 — November 6, 644; however, various dates are given, mostly
earlier, in 21 or 22; see al-Tabarī, Ta’rikh, 2:2580—2581. The confusion may have to do with
the fact that Alexandria revolted after its conquest and had to be reconquered.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 169

excellent wheat, and flax-cloth*%5 is made there); the city of al-Qays (Oaysī
robes and fine wool garments are made there); the city of al-Bahnasa (Bahnasi
curtains are made there); the city of Ahnas (garments are made there and there
are lebbek trees there);*%% the city of Taha (it produces excellent wheat and the
earthenware jugs [kīzān] that the people of Egypt call bawaqil); Ansina, an old
city on the east bank of the Nile (Pharaoh's magicians are said to have come
from there and some magic is said to remain there); the city of al-Ushmunayn,
one of Egypt's largest cities (the swiftest horses, mules, and beasts of burden
are there); the city of Asyut, one of Upper Egypt's largest cities (scarlet textiles
are made there that resemble Armenian cloth); Qahqawa, near which are an
old | city called Bütij and a city called Bushmür, which produces variegated
Yusufi wheat;5® the city of Akhmim?68 with a riverfront on the east bank of
the Nile (gatū' textiles?6? and Akhmimi hides are made there, and also there is
the monastery known as Dayr Bü Shanūda, which is said to contain the tomb
of two of Christ's disciples); and the city of Abshaya, also called al-Bulyana.5”°

565 Arabic khaysh, a course flax cloth; in modern Egyptian Arabic the word means burlap.

566 Arabic shajar al-labkh, would seem to refer specifically the lebbek tree, Albizia lebbek, a
large member of the mimosa family with showy seed-pods, but other identifications are
possible.

567 Arabic al-qamh al-yüsufi al-mujazza'. The nature of this variety of wheat is unknown.
Yusuft means that its origin was ascribed to Joseph, presumably when he served as
Pharaoh's minister as described in the Qur'àn and the Bible. Mujazza‘ normally means
“opalescent” or “variegated.” The same variety is mentioned in al-Mas‘tdi, Kitab al-Tanbih
wa-l-ishraf, 22 (“Yusufi wheat, which is the wheat with the largest grains, longest shape,
and heaviest weight"), though without mention of the town of Bushmür. In fact, de Goeje's
textual apparatus calls the reading Bushmur suspect (the word is undotted in the Ms).
Al-Mastūdī, who does not mention Bushmaür, implies that Yusüfi wheat was produced
in the Delta, and Yaqut, Buldān, 1:634, locates al-Bushmür (sic) near Dumyat. S. Timm,
Das christlich-koptische Ägypten in arabischer Zeit, 1:354—356, discusses the the location of
the town, which Timm would place in the Delta, al-Ya'qübi's testimony notwithstanding.
Yāgūt, Buldān, 1:755, lists Bütij as a small town (bulayda) on the west bank of the Nile in
the nearer part of Upper Egypt, another reason to suspect the reading Bushmūr. All that
can be said, therefore, is that this variety of wheat may have been grown both in the Delta
(according to al-Mastūdī) and in Upper Egypt (according to al-Ya'qübi).

568 On Akhmim (or Ikhmīm), see the article by Petra M. Sijpesteijn in £73, s.v., Akhmim.

569 Arabical-farsh (or, al-furush) al-gutū*: some sort of textile for use in carpeting or blankets;
the exact meaning cannot be determined.

570 Onal-Bulyanā, see Timm, Ägypten, 1312-314. Al-Ya'gūbī may be confused about the other
place-name, Abshaya. Timm, Ägypten, 33140-1147 locates an Ibsay/Ibshay at nearby al-
Mansha, Coptic Psoi, Greek Ptolemais Hermiou, just upstream from Akhmim.

332

333

170 THE GEOGRAPHY

From Abshaya, you travel to the oases through desert wastes and rugged
mountains for six stages. Then you proceed to the Outer Oasis.5” It is a country
with forts, cultivated fields, bubbling springs, flowing waters, date palms, dif-
ferent varieties of trees, vines, rice fields, and more; then to the Inner Oasis.57?
It has a city called al-Farfarün with a mixed population of Egyptians and oth-
ers. [If you do not travel to the oases, you continue] from the city of Abshaya,
which is called the city of al-Bulyana, to the city of Hu. The city of Hu is an old
city that used to have four rural districts (kuwar): Hu and Dandara on the west
bank of the Nile, Faw and Qina on the east | bank. The city fell into ruins and
its population declined due to the large number of bedouins, rebels, and ban-
dits of the region who went out to it. The people moved away from it to more
prosperous places.

It is two stages from the city of Hu to the city of Qift on the east bank.573 It
contains monuments of the kings of the Ancients and a temple. From Qift you
travel to the emerald mines. It is a mine called Kharibat al-Malik (the King's
Ruin), eight stages from the city of Qift. There are two mountains there: one
called al-Arüs (the Bridegroom), the other al-Khasūm (the Quarreler). Both
contain emerald mines. There is a place there called Kawm al-Sabüni, (as well
as) Kawm Muhran, Makabir, and Safsid. All these places contain mines in
which gemstones are found—the pits from which the gems are extracted are
called shiyam, or, in the singular, shima. There used to be an old mine there
called Birümit.5"^ It was in use in pre-Islamic days, as was the mine of Makabir.
From the mine called Kharibat al-Malik to Jabal Sa'id, which is a gold mine, is
one stage. Then one travels to a place called al-Kalbi, a place called al-Shukn,
a place called al-Tjlī, a place called al-‘Allaqi al-Adna,°” and a place called al-
Rifa, which is the port of Kharibat al-Malik. All these places are gold mines.
From Kharibat (al-Malik) to a gold mine called Raham is three stages. At Rabam
there are tribesmen from Bali, Juhayna, and a mixture of other people who are
visited for the purpose of conducting trade. These are the mines of precious
stones and the gold mines that are in close proximity to them.

571 Arabic al-Wah al-Khārija, that is, Kharga Oasis. See the article by Ayman F. Sayyid in £1?,
s.v. al-Wahat.

572 Arabic al-Wah al-Dakhila, that is, Dakhla Oasis.

573 On Oift, ancient Coptos, see the article by J.-C. Garcin in EI’, s.v. Kift.

574 Reading uncertain.

575 Le. “Nearer al-Allaqr, to distinguish it from the better-known al-‘Allaqi (tout court),
located some distance to the south.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 171

From the city of Qift (one continues) to the city of Luxor.5”6 It is a city that
has fallen into ruin, and the city | of Qus on the east bank of the Nile has taken
its place.”77 The rural district (Aura) and city of Isnā are on the west bank of
the Nile.57% It is said that its people are (called) al-Maris; Marisi donkeys come
from here.?7? Then the rural district (Aura) of Edfu,5®° on the west bank of the
Nile; the rural district (kūra) of Binbān, on the west bank; then the great city
of Aswan.58! Merchants from the mines are there, and it is on the east bank of
the Nile. It has many date palms and cultivated fields and merchandise brought
from the lands of the Nubians and of the Buja.58? The last city of the lands of
Islam in this direction is a city on an island in the middle of the Nile called
Philae,553 which is enclosed by stone walls. Then comes the frontier with the
lands of Nubia at a place called al-Qasr at a distance of one mile from Philae.

The Gold Mines
Whoever wishes to travel to the mines—the gold mines—leaves Aswan for
a place called al-Dayqa, between two mountains, then to al-Buwayb, then to
al-Baydiyya, then to Bayt Ibn Ziyad, then to ‘Udhayfir, then to Jabal al-Ahmar,
then to Jabal al-Bayad, then to Qabr Abi Mastūd, then to [...],59^ then to Wadi
l-Allaqi.585 All these places are gold mines to which prospectors flock. Wadi l-
'Allaqi is like a large city with a large number of people and a mixture of Arab
and non-Arab prospectors. It also has markets and commodities for sale. They
obtain their water from wells dug in the Wadi l-Allaqi. Most of the people at al-
‘Allaqi are tribesmen from the Rabra from the Banu Hanifa, people originally

576 Arabic al-Aqsur or al-Uqsur (the Palaces), named for its monumental ruins of Pharaonic
temples; see the article by U. Haarmann in EI, s.v. al-Uksur.

577 Qus in fact, is some 3okm north of Luxor; see the article by J.-Cl. Garcin in E12, s.v. Kus.

578 On Isnā (modern Esna), see the article by H. Ritter in E12, s.v. Isna.

579 Here al-Ya‘qubi seems to be confused, for the term al-Maris (from Coptic MA-PHC, denot-
ing the southern lands of Egypt), designates the northernmost Nubian kingdom, begin-
ning south of Aswan. See the article by S. Munro-Hay in in EI”, s.v. Maris. See also, Timm,
Ägypten, 41590-1592, who suggests that a settlement by this name was located south of
al-Ashmunein.

580 Arabic Atfū; on Edfu, see the article by G. Wiet in £1’, s.v. Adfū.

581 On Aswan (ancient Syene, Arabic Aswan or Uswan) see the articles by J. Cl. Garcin in £1’,
s.v. Uswan, and by Johanna Pink in £1?, s.v. Aswan.

582 Al Ya'qübi will soon devote a full section to the Buja (also known as Bija or Beja).

583 Arabic Bilāg, derived from Coptic Pilāk.

584 The undotted letters are too ambiguous to read.

585 Wadil-Allaqiin Lower Nubia extends to the east of Lake Nasser, starting about 100km (62
miles) south of Aswan; see the article by G. Wiet in £7°, s.v. al-"Allāķī.

334

335

172 THE GEOGRAPHY

from al-Yamama who moved there with their women and children. Wadi l-
‘Allaqi and its environs are mines for gold. The people work in every nearby
spot. Each group of merchants and others has black slaves working in the pits.
They bring out the gold in a form like yellow arsenic, and then it is smelted.

From al-‘Allaqi to a place called | Wadi I-[...]5® is one stage. Then (the
traveler continues) to a place called [...],587 then to a place called [...],598 where
people gather in search of gold. There are Rabi‘a tribesmen from al-Yamama
there. From al-‘Allaqi to a mine called Batn Wah is one stage. From al-‘Allaqi to a
place called I‘mad is two stages. To a mine called M@ al-Sakhra is one stage. Toa
mine called al-Akhshab is two stages. To a mine called Mizab, where tribesmen
of Bali and Juhayna have settled, is four stages. To a mine called [...]98? is two
stages.

From al-‘Allaqi to ‘Aydhab is four stages.59° *Aydhāb is a Salt Sea port from
which people set sail to Mecca, the Hijaz, and Yemen. Merchants travel to it
and carry away gold, ivory, and other things in their ships. From al-‘Allaqi to
[...],9! which is the last of the gold mines to which Muslims travel, is thirty
stages. From al-‘Allaqi to a place called [...],59? where tribesmen from the Banu
Sulaym and others from Mudar have settled, is ten stages. From al-‘Allaqi to a
mine called al-Santa, where there are tribesmen from Mudar and others, is ten
stages. From al-‘Allaqi to a mine called al-Rafaq is ten stages. From al-‘Allaqi to
a mine called Sakhtit is ten stages. These are the mines to which the Muslims
travel and to which they go in search of gold.

[The Land of the Nubians]
Whoever wishes to travel from al-‘Allaqi to the land of the Nubians, who are
called the ‘Alwa, travels thirty stages—first to Kabaw, then to a place called al-
Abwab, and then to the largest city of the ‘Alwa, which is called Soba.59? The

586 The undotted letters are too ambiguous to read.

587 The undotted letters are too ambiguous to read.

588 The undotted letters are too ambiguous to read.

589 The undotted letters are too ambiguous to read.

590 On the Red Sea port of ‘Aydhab, see the article by Donald Whitcomb in E1, s.v. ‘Aydhab.

591 The undotted letters are too ambiguous to read.

592 The undotted letters are too ambiguous to read.

593 On the geography and peoples of Nubia, see the article by S. Hillelson, V. Christides, C.
E. Bosworth, A. S. Kaye, and Ahmed al-Shahi in £7’, s.v. Nüba. Al-Ya‘qubi lumps together
several distinct kingdoms: Maris, Muqurra, and ‘Alwa, proceeding from north to south. See
the articles by S. Munro-Hay in £7’, s.v. al-Mukurra, by S. M. Stern in EI”, s.v. ‘Alwa, and by
J. Spaulding in £7°, s.v. Soba.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 173

king of the ‘Alwa resides there, | and Muslims frequently go there. From (this
city) comes an account of the source of the Nile: It is said that the peninsula
of ‘Alwa is connected to the peninsula of Sind, and that the Nile flows from
beyond 'Alwa to the land of Sind in a river called Mihrān, just as it flows in the
Nile of Egypt, and there it floods at the same time as it floods in Egypt. In the
peninsula of ‘Alwa there are animals like those in the lands of Sind: elephants,
rhinoceroses, and the like. In the Mihran River there are crocodiles just as in
Egypt.94

From Aswan one can travel to the nearest part of the land of the Nubians,
who are known as Mugurrā. It is a place called Māwā. It was there that Zaka-
riyy? b. Qirqi lived, who succeeded his father Qirqi as king of the Nubians. It
is thirty stages from Māwā to the largest city of the Nubians, where the king of
the Nubians resides. That city is Dongola.995

[The Land of the Buja]
From al-‘Allaqi to the land of the Buja,59® who are named al-Hadariba and
the [...]597 is 25 stages. The city of the king of the Hadariba Buja is called
Hajar. Muslims visit it for its trade goods. The Buja live in tents made of hides,
pluck their beards, and remove the nipples from boys' breasts, lest their breasts
resemble those of women. They eat sorghum??? and similar things. They ride
camels and fight in combat on them just as one fights on horseback, and they

throw javelins without missing.
From al-‘Allaqi to the land of the Buja people called al-Zanāfija is 25 stages.
The city in which the king of the Zanāfija resides is called Baglin. Muslims
travel | to it on occasion for trade. Their way of life is like that of the Hadariba.

594 nearly Islamic cartography, the Horn of Africa was often depicted as stretching far to the
East, forming the southern shore of the Indian Ocean. Thus, al-Ya‘qubi’s claim that the Nile
might, in unknown lands south of Nubia, “continue” flowing on to Sind (roughly modern
Pakistan), where it is known as Mihran (a name for the Indus), would not have seemed as
far-fetched then as it does now. Zoologically his argument is flawless.

595 De Goeje, 336, notes that the text is corrupt here, including an illegible toponym alongside
that of Dongola. The English translation slightly rephrases the Arabic.

596 Arabic geographers usually specify the vocalization as “Buja,” but Bija is also given and is
closer to the normal English form, Beja. On the ethnography of these nomadic peoples
living between the Nile and the Red Sea, see the article by P. M. Holt in £1, s.v. Bedja.

597 The tribal name is illegible; presumably it is al-Zanafija, as below; cf. also al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh,
1:218, although the reading there is also conjectural.

598 Arabic dhura, usually is sorghum, but also can mean millet.

336

337

174 THE GEOGRAPHY

They have no religious law, and in times past they worshipped only an idol that
they called Hahakhuwa.59

[Lower Egypt]

As for the cities of Lower Egypt, the first of them is Atrib, which has an
expansive hinterland. Nearby is the village known as Banha, which produces
a renowned variety of honey.9?? Then comes the city of ‘Ayn Shams.9?! It is an
ancient city said to contain residences that belonged to Pharaoh. Nearby are
some wondrous ruins, where there are two massive, tall obelisks of hard stone
inscribed with writing in the ancient tongue. Water drips from the top of one of
them—no one knows its cause. Then come the cities of Natu, Basta, Tarabiya,
Qurbayt, San, and Iblīl. These nine cities are called the rural districts (kuwar)
of al-Hawf.602

Then come the cities of Bana, an ancient and majestic city; Büsir, which is
comparable to Bana in size and majesty;$9? Samannud;9?^ Nawasa; al-Awsiya,
which is the city of Damira; and al-Bujūm. These six cities on the east bank of
the Nile are called the rural districts (kuwar) of Batn al-Rif.605

(Then come) the cities of Sakha, Tida, al-Afrahun, Tuwwah, and the city of
Manuf al-Sufla.996 These seven cities and subdistricts are in an “island” in the
Nile between the Dimyat Branch and the al-Gharb Branch.907

599 The vocalization of the word is uncertain. More detail about Beja religion can be found
in al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 1:218. The Beja name for Satan given there (Saha Harāga) and
Hahakhuwa look like copyists' attempts to make sense of the same foreign word.

600 On Banha and its famous honey, some of which is said to have been sent by the ruler of
Egypt as a gift to the prophet Muhammad, see the article by G. Wiet in £1’, s.v. Banha.

601 On ‘Ayn Shams and its obelisks, see the article by C. H. Becker in £1’, s.v. ‘Ayn Shams.

602 Seethe article by G. Wiet and H. Halm in E75, s.v. al-Sharkiyya. Basta, Tarabiya, and Qurbayt
(thus ed. Leiden, but undotted in the Ms and better read as Furbayt) correspond to three
Byzantine pagarchies: Bubaste, Arabia, and Pharbaithos. On San (Byzantine Tanis) and
Iblil, see the article by G. Wiet in Er, s.v. San.

603 On the twin settlements of Büsir and Bana, see the article by G. Wiet in E12, s.v. Büsir or
Abüsir.

604 On Sammanūd, see the article by Ayman F. Sayyid in E12, s.v. Sammanūd.

605 On the term Batn al-Rīf, see the article by G. Wiet and H. Halm in E12, s.v. al-Sharkiyya.

606 On Lower and Upper Manūf (Manif al-Suflà and Manüf al-'Ulya, respectively), see the
article by H. Halm in £7’, s.v. Manuf.

607 Infact, al-Yaʻqūbī has listed only five cities. By “island,” al-Ya‘qubi means the Nile Delta, the
wedge of land between these two branches, not a real island in the course of the Nile. The
al-Gharb (West) Branch is the modern Rashid (Rosetta) Branch of the Nile.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 175

As for the cities that are on the coast of the Salt Sea, the first of them is al-
Farama, which is the ancient city from which you enter Egypt. Then comes
the city of Tinnis, which is surrounded by the Great Salt Sea and by a lake
that is fed by the Nile.6°8 It is an ancient city in which are manufactured fine
garments, densely woven and soft, of Dabiqi cloth, fine linen (gasab), | striped
cloth, velvet, embroidered cloth, and other sorts of garments. It has a harbor for
ships arriving from Syria and the Maghrib. Then comes the city of Shata, which
is on the seacoast and is where the Shatawi shurub garments are made.90? Then
comes the city of Damietta, which is on the seacoast.®!° The Nile extends up
to Damietta, then branches off: some of it flows into Lake Tinnis, which is
navigable by great boats and ships, and the rest of it flows into the Salt Sea.
At Damietta, densely-woven Dabiqi garments, shurub garments, and fine linen
(qasab) are made. Then comes Bura, a fortress on the seacoast, a dependency
of Damietta. Garments and papyrus are made there. Then comes the fortress
of Nagīza on the seacoast. Then comes the city of al-Barallus,®" which is on
the coast of the Salt Sea and is the site of the ribāt.*!? Then comes the city of
Rosetta, which is a prosperous, populous city.!? It has a harbor through which
the waters of the Nile flow into the Salt Sea. Ships from the sea enter it in order
to sail up the Nile. Then come the cities of Ikhnū on the seacoast and Wasima,
where papyrus is made.

Then comes the great and glorious city of Alexandria, whose size, magnif-
icence, and numerous antiquities are beyond description.8!^ One of the won-
ders of the ancient ruins there is the lighthouse on the seacoast at the mouth
of the Great Harbor. It is a strong and artfully constructed lighthouse 175 cubits
tall. Atop it are hearths in which fires are lit whenever the watchmen see ships

608 Thecity of Tinnis is situated on an island in Lake Manzala. See the article by J.-M. Mouton
in EP, s.v. Tinnis.

609 On Shatā, a few miles from Damietta, on the western shore of Lake Tinnis, see the article
by G. Wiet and H. Halm in E12, s.v. Shatā. Shurūb cloth apparently was a variety of fine and
precious linen; see Dozy, Supplément, s.v. SH-R-B.

610 On the town of Damietta (Arabic, Dimyat), see the article by P. M. Holt in EI”, s.v. Dimyat.

611 So vocalized by the Leiden editor in a form closer to the Coptic and the original Greek
name (Paralos). The modern form is Burullus. See the article by G. Wiet in EI, s.v. Burullus
(Borollos).

612 A ribāt usually is a frontier fortress (often, as here, a coastal frontier) garrisoned by
volunteers who hope to gain spiritual merit in prosecuting jihad against infidels. The exact
sense here is problematic. See the article by J. Chabbi in E12, s.v. Ribat.

613 On the city of Rosetta (Arabic, Rashid), see the article by A. S. Atiya and H. Halm in £7,
s.v. Rashid.

614 On Alexandria, see the article by S. Labib in E12, s.v. al-Iskandariyya.

338

339

340

176 THE GEOGRAPHY

far out at sea. In Alexandria there are two obelisks of variegated stone resting
on (bases of) copper (in the form of) crayfish;8!5 they are both inscribed with
ancient writing. The city's ancient ruins and wonders are many. The city has a
canal that brings sweet water from the Nile and then empties into the Salt Sea.

Alexandria has the following rural districts (kuwar) | that are not on the coast
of the Salt Sea, but along the banks of the Nile canals: the rural districts of al-
Buhayra, Masi, al-Malidas— these are the rural districts along the Alexandria
Branch, which enters the city. Then come the rural districts of Tarnut, Qartasa,
Khirabta—these also lie along that branch. Then there are the rural districts of
Sa, Shabas, al-Hayyiz, al-Badaqun, and al-Sharak—these lie along a Nile branch
called al-Nastarū. Alexandria has the following other rural districts: Maryūt, a
prosperous district with vineyards and orchards, famous for its fruit; Lübiya;
and Maraqiya—the latter two are on the coast of the Salt Sea. Tribesmen from
the Banü Mudlij division of Kinana inhabit the nearest villages of these of these
districts, and Berber tribesmen inhabit most of the others. There are villages
and fortresses in them.

All the rural districts of Egypt were conquered in the caliphate of Umar b.
al-Khattàb; the commander was ‘Amr b. al-‘As b. Wail al-Sahmi. The revenues
of Egypt from the poll tax under ‘Amr in the caliphate of ‘Umar in the first year
totalled 14,000,000 dinars. When ‘Amr collected only 10,000,000 in the second
year, ‘Umar sent him a message saying, "O traitor!” In the caliphate of Uthmān
b. ‘Affan, (the governor) ‘Abdallah b. Sa‘d b. Abi Sarh collected 12,000,000
dinars. Then the people converted to Islam, so that in the reign of Mu'awiya the
revenues from the land tax with the poll tax totalled (only) 5,000,000 dinars.
In the reign of Harun al-Rashid, they totalled 4,000,000 dinars, and then the
revenues of Egypt fell to 3,000,000 dinars.

Egypt and all its villages obtain their water from the Nile summer and winter,
with it rising in the summer. It comes from the land of the ‘Alwa,®!® emanating
from springs and increasing from the rains that come in the summer, so that
it spreads over the face of the earth until it covers the whole | land. Then it
begins to recede in one of the Coptic months called Baba, which is Tishrin al-
Awwal,®!” and the people begin cultivating and planting crops, for the land of
Egypt receives little rain, except for the part along the coasts. All of Egypt's non-

615 That is, bases of copper or copper-faced stone in the form of crayfish or decorated with
crayfish. By crayfish, al-Ya'qübi is probably describing a scarab beetle.

616 Thatis, Nubia.

617 Thatis, October.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 177

Arabs are Copts: those of Upper Egypt are called al-Maris®!® and those of Lower
Egypt are called al-Biyama.

The Road to Mecca from Egypt

For anyone who wishes to go on pilgrimage to Mecca from Egypt, the first
stage is called Jubb ‘Amira, where all the pilgrims gather on the day of their
departure. Then comes a stage called al-Qarqara in a waterless desert; then
a stage called 'Ajarüd, where there is an ancient deep-shafted well of bitter
water. Then one comes to Jisr al-Qulzum.®!9 Whoever wishes to do so may
enter the city of Qulzum, which is a large city on the seacoast, where there
are merchants who prepare the supplies to be sent from Egypt to the Hijaz and
to Yemen. There is also a harbor for ships. It has a mixed population, and its
merchants are men of means. From Qulzum, the people camp in steppe and
desert terrain for six stages until they reach Ayla—they supply themselves with
water for these six stages. The city of Ayla is an important city on the coast of
the Salt Sea. It is where the pilgrims from Syria meet the pilgrims from Egypt
and the Maghrib,% and there are many | commodities available. It has a mixed
population, and there is a group of people who claim to be clients of Uthmān
b. 'Affan.9?! At Ayla there is also a striped mantle said to be the mantle of the
Messenger of God— God's blessing and peace be upon him. He is said to have
given it to Ru'ba b. Yuhanna when he traveled to Tabuk.®?2

From Ayla one proceeds to Sharaf al-Ba‘l, and from Sharaf al-Ba‘l to Madyan,
which is a prosperous ancient city with many springs, continuously flowing
streams of sweet water, orchards, gardens, and date groves. It has a mixed
population.

Whoever wishes to leave Madyan for Mecca proceeds along the coast of the
Salt Sea to a place called "Aynūnā, where there is some cultivation and date

618 The term also designates the northernmost Nubian kingdom, extending south from As-
wan to the northern border of al-Muqurra. See the article by S. Munro-Hay in EI”, s.v.
al-Maris.

619 Jisr al-Qulzum (al-Qulzum Bridge) was a bridge over an ancient canal leading from
Qulzum (ancient Klysma), a mile from modern Suez on the Red Sea, to the Nile near
Fustat. By al-Ya'gūbīs time, the canal was no longer navigable, but the bridge remained
a landmark. See the article by E. Honigmann and R. Y. Ebied in £7’, s.v. al-Kulzum.

620 That is, from North Africa.

621 Probably to be interpreted, “who claim to be descendants of clients (mawālī) of Uthmān
b. ‘Affan.’

622 Ru'ba b. Yuhanna was the Ayli notable (possibly a bishop) with whom the Prophet is said
to have negotiated the city's surrender, along with that of Tabük, in the year 9/630. See
al-Ya‘qubi, Ta'rikh, 2:70.

341

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178 THE GEOGRAPHY

groves and where there are mining sites where people prospect for gold. Then
one proceeds to al-‘Awnid, which is similar, then to al-Sala, then to al-Nabk,
then to al-Qusayba, then to al-Buhra, then to al-Mughaytha, which is Tub‘al,
then to Zuba, then to al-Wajh, and then to Munkhus. In Munkhis there are
divers who harvest pearls. Then one proceeds to al-Hawra’, then to al-Jar, then
to al-Juhfa, then to Qudayd, then to Usfān, and then to Batn Marr.

Whoever wishes to travel the road that goes to the City of the Messen-
ger923 — God's blessing and peace be upon him— proceeds from Madyan to
a stop called Aghra’ then to Qalas, then to Shaghb, then to Badda, then to al-
Suqya, then to Dhu l-Marwa, then to Dhu Khushub, then to Medina. These are
the stages from Egypt to Mecca and Medina.

Al-Maghrib®*

Whoever wishes to travel by road from Egypt to Barga and the furthermost parts
of the Maghrib passes from al-Fustat onto the west bank of the Nile until he
reaches Tarnūt.625 Then he continues to a station known as al-Mina, which has
been deserted by its people. Then he comes to the large monastery known as Bü
Mina, in which stands the famous church of wondrous construction abounding
in marble decoration.9?6 Then he comes to the station known as Dhat al-
Humam, where there is a congregational mosque.9?" It a dependency (‘amat) of
the rural district (kura) of Alexandria. Then he continues amid stations in the
territory of the Banu Mudlij in the steppe, some along the coast, some set back
from the coast. Among them are the stations known as al-Tāhūna, al-Kana'is,
and as Jubb al-‘Awsaj.

Then the traveler continues into the dependency ('amal) of Lübiya (Libya),
which is a rural district (Aura) after the fashion of the rural districts of Alexan-
dria. Among its stations are the station known as Manzil Ma‘n, then the station
known as Qasr al-Shammas, then Khirbat al-Qawm, then al-Rammada, which is

623 That is, Medina.

624 “The West,” that is, North Africa, excluding Egypt. For an overview of geographical and
historical details, see the article by G. Yver in in E7?, s.v. al-Maghrib.

625 Tarnüt (ancient Terenouthis, near modern al-Tarrana) lay about 70 km north of Cairo on
the western branch of the Nile. See the article in Yaqut, Mujam al-buldan, 1:845, s.v. Tarnüt.

626 The monastery, better known as Dayr Abü Mina, was dedicated to St. Minas. Its ruins lie
about 45km south of Alexandria.

627 A town Dhāt al-Hammam (apparently a variant of Dhat al-Humam), is mentioned by
Yāgūt, Mujam al-buldan, s.v. (2:330), as lying between Alexandria and Ifriqiya; that is, to
the west of Alexandria.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 179

the first station of the Berbers. It is inhabited by Mazata®* tribesmen and other
indigenous non-Arabs. There are also Arab tribesmen from the Bali, Juhayna,
Banu Mudlij, and others of mixed descent.

Then the traveler continues to al-Aqaba (The Pass), which is on the coast of
the Salt Sea, difficult to traverse, rough, rugged, and dangerous. Upon reaching
the top of the pass, one continues to the station known as al-Qasr al-Abyad,
then Maghayir Ragīm, then Qusür al-Rūm, then Jubb al-Raml. These are ter-
ritories of the Berbers from the tribes of Masala b. Luwata and a mixture of
peoples. Then the traveler reaches Wadi Makhil, which is a station like a city. It
has a congregational mosque, cisterns, permanent markets, and a redoubtable
fortress. It has a mixed population, most of them Berbers from Masala, Zanara,
Mas'üba, Marawa, and Fatita. From Wadi Makhil to the city of | Barqa is three
stages through Berber territory belonging to the Marawa, Mafrata, Mas'üba,
Zakūda, and other Lawata tribes.

Barga*??

The city of Barga stands in a wide plain on intensely red soil. It is a city
surrounded by walls, with iron portals and a moat. Al-Mutawakkil ‘ala Allah630
ordered the walls to be built. The people drink rainwater that comes from
the mountains in watercourses that lead to great cisterns that the caliphs and
governors made to supply drinking water for the people of the city of Barqa.
Surrounding the city are suburbs in which the troops and others live. The city's
houses and suburbs have a mixed population, with most of the people being
veteran soldiers who have children and grandchildren. The city of Barqa is six
Arab miles from the coast of the Salt Sea.

On the seacoast is a city called Ajiya, which has markets, guardposts, a
congregational mosque, gardens, cultivated fields, and plentiful fruit. Another
port city is called Tulmaytha,9?! where ships anchor from time to time. Barga
has two mountains: one of them, called al-Sharqi (Eastern), is home to Arab
tribesmen from al-Azd, Lakhm, Judham, Sadif, and other Yemenis; the other
mountain, called al-Gharbi (Western), is home to tribesmen from Ghassan,
and tribesmen from Judham, al-Azd, Tujib and other Arab tribes, as well as
villages of Luwata Berber clans from Zakūda, Mafrata, and Zanara. On these
two mountains there are flowing springs, trees, fruit, fortresses and ancient
cisterns built by the Romans.

628 On the Mazāta, a powerful Berber grouping, see the article by T. Lewicki, in EI, s.v. Mazata.

629 On the town of Barqain the region known as Cyrenaica, see the article by J. Despois in £1”,
s.v. Barka.

630 The ‘Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil reigned 232/847—247/861.

631 Ancient Ptolemais; see the article by T. Lewicki in £1’, s.v. Mazata.

343

344

180 THE GEOGRAPHY

Barqa has many regions (aqalim) that are inhabited by the aforementioned
Berber tribes. One of the cities included among them is Barniq,®*? a city on the
coast of the Salt Sea. It has a harbor, wondrous in convenience and excellence,
where ships can take refuge. It is inhabited by people descended from the
ancient Romans, who in olden times formed the city’s population, and Berber
tribesmen from Tahlala, Sawa, Mastisa, Maghagha, Wahila, and Jadana. | Barniq
is two stages from the city of Barqa, and it also has regions (agālīm) under its
control.

(The other city) is Ajdabiya.9?? It is a city with an overlooking citadel and
with a congregational mosque and permanent markets. From Barniq to itis two
stages, and from Barqa to it is four stages. It is inhabited by Berber tribesmen
from Zanāra, Wahila, Masūsa, Suwa, Tahlala, and others, as well as by Jadana,
who are predominant there. It has regions (agālīm) and a port on the Salt Sea
six Arab miles away where ships can anchor. It is the last of the cities in Luwata
territory.

The Luwata tribes say that they are descended from Luwata b. Barr b. Qays
‘Aylan. Some of them say that they are a group from Lakhm, the first of whom
came from Syria and were transferred to these territories, while still others say
that they are descended from the Romans.634

Surt635
From the city of Ajdābiya to the city of Surt on the coast of the Salt Sea is five
stages. One stage belongs to the territory of the Luwāta, but among them are
tribesmen from the Mazāta, andit is they who are dominant in it. Among these
stages are al-Fārūj, Qasr al-‘Atish, al-Yahtdiya, Qasr al-Tbādī; then the city of
Surt. The people of these stations and the people of the city of Surt are from
the Mindāsa, Mahanha, Wantas, and other tribes.936 Their last settlement is two

632 Ancient Berenike, now the site of modern Benghazi; see the article by J. Despois in E12, s.v.
Benghazi.

633 On Ajdabiya, now a small village between Benghazi and Surt, see the article by H. H. Ab-
dul-Wahab in EP, s.v. Adj dàbiya.

634 Thatis, the Berber Luwata (also vocalized Lawata) claimed an Arab or Roman (or Greek,
as Arabic al-Rüm can refer to either) lineage. Al-Ya‘qubi gives a more detailed account of
the Berber tribes in Ta'rikh, 1:215—216. See also the article by T. Lewicki in E12, s.v. Lawāta.

635 On the history of the medieval city of Surt, 55km east of modern Sirt, see the article by
A. Hamdani in EP, s.v. Surt.

636 The rendering of the names is uncertain. For Mahanha, de Goeje notes that Ibn Khaldün
read Majija, and Wantās (or Wūntās) is Goeje's emendation of Ms Fintās (or Qintas, the
first letter being undotted).

THE WESTERN QUARTER 181

stages from the city of Surt at a place called Tawargha,8?" which is the furthest
limit of Barqa. All the Mazata are Ibadis 938 but they neither are versed in sacred
law nor do they practice religion.

The land tax of Barqa is (based on) an established financial regulation. (The
caliph) al-Rashid sent out a client of his named Bashshar, who apportioned the
land tax (kharaj) of 24,000 dinars so that each estate (day'a) would owe a speci-
fied amount—this was apart from the tithes (a shar), alms taxes (sadaqat), and
poll tax ( jawalc).®8° The total amount from the tithes, alms-tax and poll tax is
15,000 dinars, sometimes more and sometimes less. The tithes are levied from
areas that | have neither olive groves, trees, nor well-watered villages. Barqa has
a dependency (‘amal) called Awjala, which is in a desert region lying to the
west. Whoever wishes to go out to it turns off to the south, proceeding to two
cities, one of which is called Jalaw, the other Waddan. Each has date palms,
dried dates and gasb, of which there is no better. Of the two, Waddan is the
more pleasant.

Waddan$^!

Waddan, which is a region approached through a desert, was formerly a depen-
dency of Barqa; now it is attached to the district ('amal) of Surt. Waddan is five
stages south of the city of Surt. Some Muslims live there who claim to be Arabs
from the tribal faction of Yemen, but most of the people are from (the Berber
tribe of) Mazata, and itis they who dominate the place. Dates, of which there
are several varieties, are the main export. It is governed by a local resident, and
no land tax is collected from it.

Zawila
Beyond and to the south lies the land of Zawila.9^? The people are Muslims
all of whom are Ibadis who perform the pilgrimage to the Sacred House.643

637 Tawargha (modern Tawergha) is approximately 172 km west of Surt and 38km south of
Misrāta.

638 That is, members of the Khārijite sect known as Ibādīs. On the origin and history of this
sect that persists to this day in Oman, East Africa, Tripolitana, and southern Algeria, see
the article by T. Lewicki in E1?, s.v. al-‘Ibadiyya.

639 On jawālī as a synonym for jizya (poll tax), see the article by Cl. Cahen in £7’, s.v. Djawālī.

640 Qasbis a particularly tough variety of dried date.

641 Waddan is one of three oases in the al-Jufra depression of the Libyan desert about 238km
southwest of Surt. See the article by J. Despois in £1’, s.v. al-Djufra.

642 On the geography and history of Zawila, see the article by K. S. Vikør in E1?, s.v. Zawila.

643 This implies that although they belong to the same Kharijite sect as the Mazata, who have

345

346

182 THE GEOGRAPHY

Most of them are of [...].9^^ They bring out black slaves from the Mīriyyūn, the
Zaghawiyyun, the Marwiyyūn, and other black peoples, as they are near them
and take them captive. I have also heard that the kings of the black peoples
simply sell blacks for no reason without there being any war.

From Zawila come Zawili hides. It is a land of date palms, sorghum fields,
and other things. It has a mixed population of people from Khurasan, Basra,
and Kufa. Fifteen stages beyond Zawila is a city called Kuwwar, where there
are Muslims from a variety of tribes. Most of the people, however, are Berbers,
and they import blacks (as slaves). Between Zawila and the city of Kuwwar and
those dependencies of Zawila on the road to Awjala and Ajdabiya is a group of
people called Lamta, who closely resemble the Berbers. They are the source of
white Lamtī shields.645

Fazzan
The people known as Fazzan are a mixture of peoples who have a chief whom
they all obey. | It is a vast region and a large city. There is unending war between
these people and the Mazata.

Barqa is also called Antabulus, which is its ancient name.949 ‘Amr b. al-‘As
conquered it by treaty in the year 23.9*7 From the last dependency (‘amal) of
Barqa, the place called Tawargha, to Tripoli9^? is six stages. From Tawargha,

just been described as not practicing religion, the people of Zawila perform the pilgrimage
to Mecca like other Muslims.

644 The undotted letters are too ambiguous to read.

645 On the Lamta tribe see the article by G. S. Colin in £1’, s.v. Lamta. The shields were covered
with the skin of the /amt antelope, a kind of oryx, hardened by soaking in milk. See the
article by F. Viré in EI, s.v. Lamt.

646 The name Antabulus (i.e., Antapolis) probably comes from the Greek for Antaeus' City
(Avralov móAic), as Libya was the birthplace of this mythical giant and the scene of
Heracles’ combat with him. One reads in Isaac Newton’s work “The Chronology of antient
Kingdoms amended” (Opera, v, London, 1785), p. 172: “Antaeus reigned over all Afric to
the Atlantic Ocean, and built Tingis or Tangieres. Pindar tells us, that he reigned at Irasa,
a town of Libya, where Cyrene [i.e., Barqa] was afterwards built. He invaded Egypt and
Thebais; for he was beaten by Hercules and the Egyptians near Anteea or Anteeopolis, a
town of Thebais; and Diodorus tells us, that ‘this town had its name from Anteeus, whom
Hercules slew in the days of Osiris."

647 23A.H. = November 19, 643 - November 7, 644.

648 Theusual Arabic form is Tarabulus; al-Ya‘qubi uses the form Atrabulus.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 183

one leaves Mazata territory and reaches the territory of the Hawwara,®*9 which
begins at Wardasa; then comes Labda, which is a fortress like a city on the
seacoast. The Hawwara claim to be descended from the indigenous Berbers,
and that the Mazata and the Luwata were part of them, but cut themselves
off from them and left their territories and moved to the region of Barqa and
other places. The Hawwara also claim to be a group of people from Yemen
who became ignorant of their genealogies. The tribes of Hawwara keep track
of genealogies just as the Arabs do. Among their tribes are the Banū |-Luhan,
Malila, and Warsatifa. The subtribes of al-Luhān are the Banu [...],6 the
Bani [...], the Banū Warfala, and the Banū Masrata. The encampments of the
Hawwara stretch from the last dependency ('amal) of Surt as far as Tripoli.

Tripoli

Tripoli is a majestic ancient city on the coast, prosperous and populous, with a
mixed population. ‘Amr b. al-‘As conquered it in the year 2399! in the caliphate
of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab; it was the last place in the Maghrib to be conquered in
Umar's caliphate.92

From Tripoli (the traveler continues) to the land of the Nafüsa.95? They are
a group whose language is not Arabic—Ibadis all of them. They have a leader
called Alyās,*5* from whose command they do not deviate. Their residences
in the mountains of Tripoli include estates, villages, fields, and many tracts
of cultivated land. They pay no land tax to any government, nor do they give
obedience to anyone except a leader of theirs in Tahart, who is the leader of
the Ibadiya, called ‘Abd al-Wahhab b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Rustam, a Persian.955
The territory of the Nafūsa stretches from the limits of (the district of) Tripoli
south to the vicinity of al-Qayrawan. They have many tribes and various clans.

649 On the Hawwara, see the article by T. Lewicki and P. M. Holt in £7’, s.v. Hawwara.

650 The undotted letters of this and the following tribal name are too ambiguous to read.

651 23A.H. = November 19, 643 - November 7, 644.

652 On the Islamic history of Tripoli (Arabic, Tarabulus), see the article by G. Oman, V. Chris-
tides, and C. E. Bosworth in £7’, s.v. Tarabulus.

653 See the article by F. Béguinot in E12, s.v. al-Nafüsa.

654 Thus vocalized in ed. Leiden, but almost certainly to be identified as Abū Mansūr Ilyas
al-Nafūsī, governor of the Nafüsa mountains and the Tripoli region for its Rustamid ruler
during al-Ya‘qubi’s lifetime. See the article by T. Lewicki in in EP, s.v. Abū Mansür Ilyas
al-Nafüsi.

655 Founder of the Ibadi Rustamid dynasty, which ruled from Tahart in what is now Algeria
161/778—296/909. On its history, see the articles by M. Talbi in £7°, s.v. Rustamids or
Rustumids, and by Virginie Prevost in E12, s.v. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Rustam.

347

184 THE GEOGRAPHY

From Tripoli (the traveler continues) along the main road to a large city
called Oābis**6 on the coast of the Salt Sea, prosperous, with | many trees, fruit,
and bubbling springs. Its people are a mixture of Arabs, non-Arabs, and Berbers.
Residing there is a governor appointed by Ibn al-Aghlab, the ruler of Ifrīgiya.*7
From Tripoli to Qabis is a five-stage journey through prosperous lands inhab-
ited by Berbergroups from the Zanata, the Luwata and the indigenous Africans.
The first of these stages is [...],59 the first stage from Tripoli; then comes Sabra,
a stop where there are ancient stone idols; then Qasr Bani [...]; then [...]; then
al-Fasilat; and then Qabis.

Al-Qayrawan®?

From Qabis to the city of al-Qayrawan is four stages. The first is Ayn al-Zaytūna,
which is not populous, then Lalas,96? a castle in which there is some habitation,
then Ghadir al-Arābī, and then Qalshana, which is the halting-place for those
coming and going from al-Qayrawan. Then one reaches the great city of al-
Qayrawan, which was laid out by ‘Uqba b. Nafi‘ al-Fihrī in the year 6098! in
the caliphate of Mu‘awiya. It was ‘Uqba who conquered most of the Maghrib,
although the first to enter the territory of Ifriqiya and conquer it was ‘Abdallah
b. Sa‘d b. Abi Sarh in the caliphate of Uthmān b. ‘Affan in the year 36.962

Al-Qayrawan is a city that used to have walls of mud and unbaked bricks.
But Ziyadat Allah b. Ibrahim b. al-Aghlab pulled them down when ‘Imran b.

656 Modern Gabès in Tunisia; see the article by M. Talbi in E12, s.v. Kabis.

657 On the Aghlabid dynasty of rulers of Ifriqiya, see the article by G. Marais and J. Schacht
in EI”, s.v. Aghlabids.

658 The undotted letters of this and the two following toponyms are too ambiguous to read.

659 On the city of al-Qayrawan, located in modern Tunisia, see the article by M. Talbi in £1’,
s.v. al-Kayrawan.

660 Reading uncertain.

661 60A.H. = October 13, 679 - September 30, 680. De Goeje adds the following note to
the Leiden edition (translated here from Latin): “In fact, it happened in the year 50
[January 29, 670 - January 17, 671]. The fault is the copyist's, not the author's, as is evident
from comparing History [Ta’rikh] 2:272. What soon follows about the first expedition's
having been in the years 36 and 37 (p. 349, l. 20), instead of 26 and 27, must also be
attributed to the copyist's fault, as demonstrated by History 2191. One may therefore
conclude that in the autograph the number was written not in words but in figures."

662 364A.H. = June 30, 656 - June 18, 657. See, however, the previous note, which concludes that
one should read 26 (October 17, 646 — October 6, 647) on the basis of al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh
2:191. The correction to 26 is all the more necessary as Uthmān was assassinated at the
end of 35/656.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 185

Mujalid, ‘Abd al-Salam b. al-Mufarraj, and Mansur al-Tanbadhi revolted against
him.663 They revolted against him at al-Qayrawan—they were (descendants) of
the old soldiers ( jund) who had arrived with Ibn al-Ash'ath.564

Theirsource of drinking water is rainwater. During the winter, when the rains
and | torrents come, the rainwater from the streams goes into great cisterns
called mawajil,6© from which the water carriers obtain their water. They also
have a watercourse called Wadi al-Sarawil south of the city; it carries salty water
because it lies in swampy ground, but the people use it for their various needs.

The residences of the Bani l-Aghlab are two Arab miles from the city of
al-Qayrawan in palaces around which numerous walls have been built. These
remained as their residences until Ibrahim b. Ahmad moved out of them;
he settled in a place called al-Raqqada, eight Arab miles from the city of al-
Qayrawan, and built a palace there.666

The city of al-Qayrawan has a mixed population of people from Quraysh
and from all the other Arab lineages: Mudar, Rabi‘a, and Qahtan. There are
also groups of non-Arabs from among the Khurasani troops and from whatever
other troops came with the governors of the Banu Hāshim.%7 There are also
non-Arabs from the indigenous non-Arab population: Berbers, Romans, and
the like.

663 In his note to the Leiden edition, De Goeje notes that Imran b. Mujalid was killed in 200
(August 11, 815 - July 29, 816), while the revolt of Abd al-Salàm and Mansür took place
in 209 (May 4, 824 — April 23, 825). He therefore suggests reading ‘Amir b. Nafi‘ instead
of Imran b. Mujalid, referring to the note in his 1860 edition of this section of al-Ya‘qubi
under the title Descriptio al-Maghribi. For a synopsis of the political turmoil of these years
in al-Qayrawan, see the article by G. Marcais and J. Schacht in £7?, s.v. Aghlabids or Banu'l-
Aghlab.

664 This refers not to the famous ‘Abd al-Rahmān b. Muhammad b. al-Ash'ath, who led a
Ash'ath al-Khuza'i who was sent to Ifriqiya for the first time by the caliph al-Saffah in
133 (August 9, 750 — July 29, 751; see al-Tabari, Ta’rikh, 3:74) and who took Qayrawan from
the ‘Ibadiyya in 144/761. In 148/765, he was succeeded as governor by the founder of the
Aghlabid dynasty, al-Aghlab b. Salim, during the reign of whose grandson, Ziyadat Allah
(r. 201/817 to 223/838), these revolts took place.

665 So vocalized by Dozy, Supplément, 1:11; De Goeje vocalizes the word in accordance with its
etymology as marājil.

666 Ibrahim b. Ahmad ruled from 261/875 to 289/902. His new residence at al-Raqqada was
built in 264/878. See the article by G. Marcais and J. Schacht in E12, s.v. Aghlabids or Banu'l-
Aghlab.

667 That is, the ‘Abbasids.

348

349

186 THE GEOGRAPHY

It is one stage from al-Qayrawan to Susa, which is on the coast of the Salt
Sea.968 It has an arsenal in which naval ships are built, and other ships come to
it. Sasa has a mixed population.

From al-Qayrawan it is one stage to a place called al-Jazira. This is Jazirat
Abi Sharīk, which protrudes into the sea and is surrounded by its waters.96? It
is commercially very busy. In it is a group of kinsmen of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab,
and other Arab and non-Arab lineages. This place has numerous cities of no
great size in which the population is dispersed. Its governor resides in a city
called al-Nawatiya$"? near Iqlibiya, from which one can sail to Sicily.

From al-Qayrawan it is two easy stages to the city of Satfūra. This is a large
city that has people from Quraysh, Quda‘a, and other tribes.

From al-Qayrawan (one can also travel) to the city of Tunis, which is on
the seacoast and has an arsenal.9"! It is a great city. From it came Hammad al-
Barbari, the client of Hārūn al-Rashid and governor of Yemen. Around the city
of Tunis were walls made of mud and unbaked brick; the walls of the areas |
adjacent to the sea were of stone. Then the people of Tunis opposed Ziyadat
Allah b. al-Aghlab—among them were Mansūr al-Tanbadhi, Husayn al-Tujībī,
and al-Quray‘ al-Balawi—and Ziyadat Allah therefore fought them. When he
defeated them, having killed a great many people, he pulled down the walls of
the city. From the coast of Tunis, one can cross to the peninsula of al-Andalus:
we have already mentioned the peninsula of al-Andalus and its circumstances
when we mentioned Tāhart.%72

From al-Qayrawan it is three stages to the city of Bāja.*73 Baja is a large city
with ancient stone walls. In contains people descended from the old troops of
the Banu Hashim, as well as non-Arabs. Near the city of Baja there are Berber
tribesmen called Wazdāja. They are recalcitrant and offer no obedience to Ibn
al-Aghlab.

From al-Qayrawan it is two stages to the city of al-Urbus,*7% which is a large,
prosperous city with a mixed population.

668 On Sūsa (modern Sousse), see the article by Mohamed Jedidi in £1’, s.v. Susa.

669 On the peninsula of Jazirat Sharīk, see the article by Hussain Monés in £1’, s.v. Djazirat
Sharik.

670 Thereading is uncertain.

671 Onthecity of Tunis (Arabic, Tunis), see the article by P. Sebag in E12, s.v. Tunis.

672 In fact, the section on al-Andalus occurs below, on pages 353-355 of the Leiden edition,
which suggests that al-Ya‘qubi did not compile the Buldan sequentially.

673 On Bāja (modern Béja), about 100km west of Tunis, see the article by Elise Voguet in £73,
s.v. Baja.

674 Modern Laribus or Lorbeus in Kef Province of Tunisia.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 187

From al-Qayrawan it is four stages to a city called Majjana.$75 At this city
there are mines of silver, antimony, iron, litharge, and lead among the moun-
tains and canyons. Its people are tribesmen called al-Sanajira. It is said that the
first of them was from Sinjar in the region of Diyar Rabra.*7% They are troops for
the government. There are also groups of non-Arabs there: Berbers and others.

South from al-Qayrawan one travels to the land of Qamuda, which is a vast
region with cities and fortresses. The city in which the governor resides at
this time is Madhkūra.77 The old chief city is called Subaytila;*”3 it is the city
that was conquered in the reign of Uthmān b. ‘Affan. ‘Abdallah b. ‘Umar b. al-
Khattab, ‘Abdallah b. al-Zubayr and the army commander ‘Abdallah b. Sa'd b.
Abi Sarh besieged it in the year 37.97? From the region of Oamūda (one can
travel) to the city of Qafsa,59? which is a fortified city with stone walls and
springs located inside the city. It is paved with stones. Around the city are many
cultivated lands and famous varieties of fruit.

From Qafsa (one travels) to the cities | of Qastiliya: four cities in an extensive
region of date palms and olive trees.®*! The chief city is called Tawzar; the local
officials reside there. The second is called al-Hamma, the third Tagiyūs, and the
fourth, Nafta. Around these cities lie four salt flats.*%? The people of these cities
are non-Arabs: indigenous Romans, Africans, and Berbers.

From thecities of Qastiliya it is three stages to the cities of Nafzawa. Nafzawa
comprises a number of cities. The chief city, in which the local officials reside,
is called Bishshara. Its people are indigenous Africans and Berbers. The cities
to the south are surrounded by sand.

675 Modern Medjana in Algeria, about 85km southwest of Béjaia in Algeria.

676 Sinjār is a city in northwestern Iraq. It is uncertain that the populace of Majjana in North
Africa hailed from this Iraqi town. More likely, al-Ya‘qubi is relaying a folk etymology for
the group's name, which was also a way for them to claim Arab ancestry.

677 De Goeje was unable to identify this town, though it is attested elsewhere. It may be a
misreading for Mazüna, modern Mezzouna, a small town not far from Subaytila (Sbeitla).

678 On Subaytila (modern Sbeitla) in south-central Tunisia, see the article by Fethi Béjaoui in
EI’, s.v. Subaytila.

679 37A.H.=June19, 657 - June 8, 658. But see note 661 above. The correction to 27 (October 7,
647 - September 24, 648) is all the more necessary as Uthmān was assassinated at the end
of 35/656.

680 Modern Gafsa; see the article by M. Talbi in E12, s.v. Kafsa.

681 On the city and its dependencies, see the article by M. Talbi in £7’, s.v. Kastiliya.

682 Arabic sibakh (pl. of sabkha). These are the so-called shotts (French spelling, chotts; from
Arabic shatt): marshy depressions that are covered by a salt crust in the dry summer
season, but fill with water to become shallow, temporary lakes in the winter rainy season.
See the articles by Y. Callot in £1’, s.v. Shatt, and by G. Yver in EF, s.v. Sabkha.

350

351

188 THE GEOGRAPHY

South of al-Qayrawan is a region called al-Sahil (the Coast), but it is not the
coast of a sea. It has much arable land for olive trees, fruit trees, and vineyards,
and comprises numerous villages, each leading to the next. This region has two
cities, one of them called [...],683 the other, Qabisha. From the al-Sahil region
it is two stages from [...] and Qabisha to the city called Sfax.®*4 Sfax is on the
seacoast and the Salt Sea breaks against its city walls. It is the furthest limit
of al-Sahil. From Sfax to a place called Bizerte995 is an eight days’ journey. At
every halting-place there are fortresses, each close to the other, in which the
pious and the people of the ribats live.

From al-Qayrawan it is ten stages to the lands of the Zāb.*%6 The chief city
of the Zab is Tubna, which is where the governors reside.%7 It has a mixed
population of Quraysh, Arabs, the garrison, non-Arabs, Africans, Romans, and
Berbers. The Zàb is a large region. Located in it is an ancient city called Baghaya,
where there are Arab tribes from the garrison, non-Arabs from the Khurasani
troops, and non-Arabs from the local non-Arab population of descendants of
the Romans. Around it there are Berber tribesmen from the Hawwara on a
mighty mountain called Aurés,98? on which snow falls. (Also located in it is) a
city called Tijis, | which is a dependency of Baghaya. Around it there are Berber
tribesmen: non-Arabs called Nafza. (Also located in it is) a large and majestic
city called Mila; it is prosperous and fortified, but has never been controlled
by a governor. It has a fortress surrounding another fortress in which there
is a man from the Banü Sulaym called Musa b. al-‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Samad,
who represents Ibn al-Aghlab.89 The seacoast is close to this city. It has a
port called Jījal,*%% one called Qal'at Khattab, one called Iskida,®*! one called

683 The unpointed letters here and in the next sentence are too ambiguous to read. De Goeje's
conjectural reading is Tarnasa.

684 AlYa'qübi spells it Asfaqus; the more common Arabic spelling (e.g., in Yāgūt, Mujam al-
buldān) is Safaqus. The conventional spelling Sfax reflects the modern pronunciation of
the name of this city located about 233 km south of Tunis.

685 Arabic, Banzart; the conventional spelling Bizerte reflects the modern pronunciation of
the name of this Tunisian city, located on the coast about 60 km northwest of Tunis and
about 290 km overland from Sfax. See the article by G. Margais in £7°, s.v. Banzart.

686 On this region of northern Algeria, centering on the city of Biskra in the southern foothills
of the Atlas and Aurès Mountains, see the article by M. Côte in E12, s.v. Zab.

687 On Tubna, now a ruined site between Barika and Bitham in Algeria, see the article by
M. Côte in £7’, s.v. Tubna.

688 Arabic, Awrās.

689 That is, it is tributary, but not subject, to the Aghlabids.

690 Modern Jijel.

691 Probably corresponding to modern Skikda.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 189

[...],82 and one called Marsa Danhaja. The entire region is cultivated, with
many trees and fruits amid mountains and springs. (Also located in it is) a
city called Sati£9?? where there are tribesmen from the Banu Asad b. Khu-
zayma acting as agents on behalf of Ibn al-Aghlab. (Also located in it is) a
city called Bilizma, whose people are tribesmen from the Banū Tamim and
clients (mawali) of the Bani Tamim. They are in revolt against Ibn al-Aghlab
at the present time. (Also located in it is) a city called Niqawus,8?^ with many
cultivated areas, trees, and fruit and with men from the garrison. Around it
there are Berbers from the Miknana, a clan of the Zanata, and around them
a group called the Awraba. Tubna is the chief city of the Zab; it is located
in the middle of the Zab, and the governors reside there. (Then there is) the
city called Maqqara; it has many fortresses, but the chief city is Maqqara. Its
people are tribesmen from the Banü Dabba, but there is also a group of non-
Arabs. Around it there are Berber tribesmen called the Banü Zandaj, along with
a group called [...] and a group called [...].695 From there (one continues) to
fortresses called [...], Talma, and [...].696 In (these places) there are tribesmen
from the Banū Sa‘d of the Banu Tamim called the Banu l-Samsama. They
rose up against Ibn al-Aghlab, but Ibn al-Aghlab defeated some of them and
imprisoned them. The city of [...]®9” is in the mountains. Its people rose up
against Ibn al-Aghlab—those who did so were tribesmen from the Hawwara
called the Banu Saghmar,®°® the Banu Warjīl, and others. The city of Arba is |
the last city of the Zab toward the west, the last dependency ('amal) of the Banu
l-Aghlab. The ‘Abbasid revolutionary army (al-musawwida) never went beyond
it.699

If the traveler travels west from the district of the Zab, he comes to a group
called the Banū Barzal. They are a division of the Banü Dammar of the Zanāta,
and they are all Kharijites (shurat).

We have already mentioned the conquest of Ifrīgiya and the accounts of it
in a separate book that we devoted to the subject.

692 The unpointed consonants are too ambiguous to read.

693 Modern Sétif.

694 Niqàwus is modern Ngaus, about 60 km southeast of Sétif.

695 The unpointed letters of both tribal names are too ambiguous to read.

696 The unpointed letters of both toponyms are too ambiguous to read.

697 The unpointed letters of the toponym are too ambiguous to read.

698 Reading as suggested by De Goeje in his note; the Ms reads Banü Sim'an.

699 Al-Ya'qübi uses the term musawwida here for the ‘Abbasid revolutionary army—the term
literally means “those who wear black,” from the black garments and banners that became
the symbol of the movement that put the dynasty in power.

352

353

190 THE GEOGRAPHY

From this place onward is the region that was taken over by al-Hasan b.
Sulayman b. Sulayman b. al-Husayn b. ‘Ali b. al-Husayn b. ‘Ali b. Abi Talib—
God's blessing and peace be upon him.79? The first city under his control is a
city called Haz, whose residents are a group of indigenous Berbers called the
Banu Yarniyan, who belong to the Zanāta also. Beyond that there are some cities
whose residents are Sanhaja and Zawawa, who are known as al-Baranis. They
own cultivated lands, fields, and livestock. The whole region is named after Haz.
Between it and the district ('amal) of Adna is a journey of three days. Then
(one reaches) a group called the Banū Dammar of Zanāta in a vast region. All
of them are Kharijites (shurat). Over them rules a chief from among them,
called Musadif b. Jartil. (They dwell) in a region of fields and livestock, one
stage away from Haz. (One continues) from there to a fortress called Hisn Ibn
Kiram. Its people are not Khārijites (shurat), but mainstream Muslims."?! Their
land is arable. Then one arrives at a region called Mattija, which was taken over
by descendants of al-Hasan b. ‘Ali b. Abi Talib— God's peace be upon him—
called the Banū Muhammad b. Ja'far."?? It is a vast region with a number of
cities and fortresses, a land of fields and cultivation. Between this region and
the fortress of Musadif b. Jartil is a three-day journey along the sea-coast. Then
comes the city of Madkara, where there are descendants of Muhammad b.
Sulayman b. ‘Abdallah b. al-Hasan b. al-Hasan b. ‘Ali b. Abi Talib— God's peace
be upon him.7?? Then comes the city of al-Khadra | to which many cities,
fortresses, villages, and arable lands are connected. This region is controlled
by the descendants of Muhammad b. Sulayman b. ‘Abdallah b. al-Hasan b. al-
Hasan b. ‘Ali b. Abi Talib— God's peace be upon him. Every one of these men
lives in and fortifies himself in a different city or district. There are so many of
them that the region is known by them and named after them. The farthest city
under their control is a city near the seacoast called Süq Ibrahim, which is the
renowned city where a man named ‘Isa b. Ibrahim b. Muhammad b. Sulayman
b. ‘Abdallah b. al-Hasan b. al-Hasan lives.

700 Thisal-Hasan was a descendant of the caliph ‘Ali and ofthe Husaynid line of Shi‘ite Imams.

701 AlYa'qübiuses the term jamā'iyya to describe these Muslims, which we might translate as
"the Consensus-Minded,’ a shorthand for the label ahl al-sunna wa-l-jama4a, "the people
of (the Prophet's) example and consensus," adopted by adherents of what is now known
as Sunni Islam.

702 Thatis, like the Banu l-Hasan b. Sulayman above, they are descendants of the caliph ‘Ali.
However, the Banü Muhammad b. Ja‘far are related instead to the Hasanid line of Shi‘ite
Imams.

703 Another descendant of ‘Ali from the Hasanid line.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 191

From these places one continues to Tāhart.”4+ The chief city is the city of
Tahart, immense and greatly reputed, nicknamed “the Iraq of the Maghrib.”
It has a mixed population. It is controlled by a group of Persians called the
Bantu Muhammad b. Aflah b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Rustam
al-Fārisī.05 ‘Abd al-Rahmān b. Rustam had served as governor of Ifrīgiya, and
his descendants moved to Tahart. They became Ibadis and came to lead the
Ibadi movement. They are (now) the leaders of the Ibadis of the Maghrib.
Adjoining the city of Tahart is a large area ruled from Tahart under the authority
of Muhammad b. Aflah b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Rustam. The
fortress on the seacoast at which the ships of Tahart anchor is called Marsa
Farūkh.

The Peninsula of al-Andalus and Its Cities
Whoever wishes to travel to the peninsula of al-Andalus goes overland from
al-Qayrawan to Tunis, as we have mentioned. Tunis is on the coast of the Salt
Sea. Then he sails the Salt Sea, hugging the coast for ten days and not going
far out to sea, until he is across from the peninsula of al-Andalus at a place
called Tanas,’°6 which is a four days’ journey from Tāhert. Or he can travel
(overland) to (the region of) Tahert and proceed from there to the peninsula—
the peninsula of al-Andalus. The traveler crosses the main channel in a day |
and a night and arrives in the region of Tudmir"?7 a large and prosperous
region with two cities, one called al-‘Askar, the other, Lūrga,”% each of which
possesses a miínbar."?? Then he leaves that region for the city where the one
holding power from the Umayyad dynasty resides, a city called Cordoba.”!0
The journey takes six days from this place, through densely spaced villages,
cultivated lands, meadows, valleys, rivers, springs, and cultivated fields. Before
reaching the city of Córdoba from Tudmīr, the traveler arrives at a city called
Elvira,” which was settled by Arabs who had come to the area from the military

704 On this town in western Algeria (Modern Tagdemt or Tihert), see the article by Mohamed
Talbi in E12, s.v. Tahart.

705 That is, the Rustamid dynasty. See note 655 above.

706 Modern Ténès, about midway between Algiers and Oran on the Mediterranean coast.

707 Tudmir the older name for the region of Murcia, is derived from the name of the last
Visigothic governor of the area, Theodemir, who surrendered his territory to the Arabs in
94/713. See the article by L. Molina in £7’, s.v. Tudmir.

708 Spanish, Lorca.

709 Literally, “a pulpit,’ that is, has a congregational mosque.

710 Arabic, Qurtuba; see the article by C. F. Seybold and M. Ocaña Jiménez in £7’, s.v. Kurtuba.

711 Arabic, Ilbīra; see the article by J. F. P. Hopkins in £7, s.v. Ilbīra.

354

192 THE GEOGRAPHY

district (jund) of Damascus. They are from the tribal faction of Mudar—the
bulk of them from Qays—with small contingents from other Arab tribes. It
is a two days’ journey from Córdoba. To the west (of Córdoba) is a city called
Reyyo,?? which was settled by (men from) the military district ( jund) of Jordan,
who are all from various clans of (the tribal faction of) Yemen. West of Reyyo
is a city called Sidonia,”! which was settled by (men from) the military district
(jund) of Hims. Most of them belong to (the tribal faction of) Yemen, but there
are a few who belong to Nizar. West of Sidonia is a city called Algeciras,”
which was settled by Berbers, with a few Arabs of mixed origins. West of the
city of Algeciras is a city called Seville.” It is on a large river which is also the
river of Cordoba.”!6 In the year 229,77 the pagans (majus) who are called al-Rūs
entered the city, took prisoners, looted, burned, and killed.”!$ West of Seville
is a city called Niebla,"? which was settled by the Arabs who first entered the
area with Tariq, the client (mawla) of Musa b. Nusayr al-Lakhmī.720 West of it
is a city called Beja,??! which was also settled by the Arabs who accompanied
Tārig. West of it, on the Atlantic Ocean,’? is a city called Lisbon,”?3 and also to

712 Arabic, Rayya (probably to be read as Rayyu). See the article by E. Lēvi-Provengal and
J.-P. Molénat in E12, s.v. Rayya.

713 Arabic, Shadūna; see the article by F. Roldan Castro in £7?, s.v. Shadüna.

714 Arabic, al-Jazīra, short for al-Jazira al-Khadra' (the Green Island, or Isla Verde); see the
article by H. Huici Miranda in EI, s.v. al-Djazira al-Khadrā.

715 Arabic, Ishbīliya; see the article by J. Bosch-Vilá and H. Terrasse in EI”, s.v. Ishbiliya.

716 The river is the Guadalquivir (from Arabic, al-Wadi al-Kabir, the Great River); see the
article by R. Pinilla-Melguizo in in E7?, s.v. al-Wadi "l-Kabir.

717 229A.H. = September 30, 843 - September 17, 844.

718 Majis in this context refers not to the Zoroastrians of Iran, but to the Vikings, as does the
term Ris. Al-Ya‘qubi is referring to the attack on Seville by Norse Vikings. After appearing
in the estuary of the Tagus in August 844, the Viking fleet of 54 longboats sailed south and
then up the Guadaquivir, arriving at Seville in October 844 and subjecting the city to seven
days of mayhem. It was not until the following month that Abd al-Rahman 11 inflicted a
defeat on them, forcing the survivors to flee. See the article by A. Melvinger, in ET, s.v.
al-Madjüs.

719 Arabic, Labla, which is close to the city's ancient name, Ilipla. See the article by J. Bosch-
Vila in £7?, s.v. Labla.

720 Thatis, Tariq b. Ziyad, the first Muslim conqueror of Andalusia.

721 Arabic, Baja, the city Beja in southern Portugal, about 127 km northwest of Niebla; see the
article by María Luisa Ávila in E13, s.v. Beja.

722 Arabic al-Bahr al-Mālih al-Muhit: literally, “the Surrounding Salt Sea”

723 Arabic, al-Ushbüna; lying about 135 km northwest of Beja; see the article by Amin Tibi in
EI’, S.V. al-Ushbüna.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 193

the west on the sea is a city called Ocsonoba.”* Such is western al-Andalus, the
part that abuts the sea, which leads to the Khazar Sea.”?5 East of this city?76 is
a city called Mérida," situated on a large river, four days west”*% of Córdoba.
Mérida lies opposite the land of the infidels.”29 One race of them is called the
Galicians (al-jalaliqa) and they | (dwell within) the peninsula (itself).

Leaving Córdoba, one travels east to a city called Jaén.7?? Former members
of the jund of Qinnasrin and al-‘Awasim live there—a mixture of Arabs from
Ma'add and Yemen. From Jaén one goes north to the city of Toledo.??! Toledo
is a majestic and well-protected city— there is no better-protected city in the
peninsula. Its people, who are a mixture of Arabs, Berbers, and non-Arab
clients, are opposed to the Banū Umayya. It has a great river called the Duero.79?
From Toledo, heading east,7?? one arrives at a city called Guadalajara,73* which
used to be governed by a Berber called [...]735 b. Faraj al-Sanhaji, a supporter
of the Bantu Umayya. His descendants and offspring live in this region to this
day. From there, one travels east to Zaragoza.”* It is one of the largest of the
frontier-towns of al-Andalus, on a river called the Ebro.”37 North of Zaragoza is
a city called Tudela,”*$ opposite the land of the infidels who are called Basques

724 Arabic, Uhsünuba (more commonly Ukshünuba): the province of Algarve and its main
city of Faro on the southern coast of Portugal. See the article by Ch. Picard in EI”, s.v.
Ukshünuba.

725 Like many other geographers of his time, al-Ya‘qubi believed that the Ocean (the Atlantic)
encircled the Afro-Eurasian land-mass. The Khazar (Caspian) Sea was held to be merely a
northern branch of these same waters.

726 More accurately, northeast of Ocsonoba (Faro) and inland.

727 Arabic, Marida, in Spain, about 265km northeast of Faro; see the article by E. Lévi-
Provençal in E1?, s.v. Mārida.

728 More accurately, about 180 km northwest.

729 Referring to the persistence of Christian rule in the north and northwestern parts of the
peninsula.

730 Arabic, Jayyān; see the article by A. Huici-Miranda in £1’, s.v. Djayyan.

731 Arabic, Tulaytula; see the article by E. Lévi-Provengal and J. P. Molénat in £7’, s.v. Tulaytula.

732 Arabic, Duwayr. Al-Ya‘qubi or his source has confused the Tagus (Arabic, Tajuh), which
flows by Toledo, with the Duero of northern Spain.

733 More accurately, about n5 km northeast.

734 Arabic, Wadi 1-Hijāra (Valley of the Stones); see the article by Cristina de la Puente in £1?,
s.v. Wadi ’l-Hidjara.

735 The unpointed letters are too ambiguous to read.

736 Arabic, Saraqusta, about 225 km northeast of Guadalajara; see the article by M. J. Vigueira
in EI, s.v. Sarakusta.

737 Arabic, Abruh; see the article by J. F. P. Hopkins in EI, s.v. Ibruh.

738 Arabic, Tutīla; see the article by Maria J. Vigera in Er”, s.v. Tutila.

355

356

194 THE GEOGRAPHY

(al-baskuns). North of this city lies a city called Huesca,’?9 which borders on the
(land of) a Frankish race of people called Gascons.”* South of Zaragoza is a city
called Tortosa."^! It is the farthest of the frontier-towns of eastern al-Andalus,
and borders on the (land of) the Franks. It lies on the river that flows down from
Zaragoza. Traveling west from Tortosa, one reaches a region called Valencia,7*?
avastand majestic region settled by Berber tribes who give no obedience to the
Banu Umayya. They have a great river in an area called Alcira."*? From there,
one travels to the region of Tudmir, the first region (in this account). Such is the
peninsula of al-Andalus and its cities.

We Return to the Account of Tahart on the Main Road of the Maghrib
From the city of Tahart and the area subject to Ibn Aflah al-Rustami (the trav-
eler reaches) the principality of | a man from the Hawwara called Ibn Masala al-
Ibadi, who, nevertheless, is opposed to Ibn Aflah and makes war on him.”4 The
city in which he resides is called al-Jabal. From there, it is a half-day’s journey to
a city called Yalal, near the Salt Sea. It has farms, villages, cultivated lands, fields,
and trees. From the principality of Ibn Masala al-Hawwari (one comes) again
to a principality belonging to the Banū Muhammad b. Sulayman b. ‘Abdallah b.
al-Hasan b. al-Hasan,”*5 other than the principality that we mentioned above,
which was the city of Madkara. (These Banü Muhammad b. Sulayman) reside
in the chief city, which is called Thamtilas. The populace of this principality
consists of tribesmen from clans of all the Berber tribes, most of them being
tribesmen called the Banū Matmata.”46 They are numerous clans, having in
their principality a great city called Ayzraj, in which some of them reside. The

739 Arabic, Washga; see the article by B. Catlos in E1?, s.v. Washka.

740 Arabic, al-Jasqas.

741 Arabic, Turtüsha. More accurately, southeast of Zaragoza; see the article by Maria J. Vigue-
ra in EI”, s.v. Turtüsha.

742 Arabic, Balansiya; see the article by E. Lévi-Provengal in E12, s.v. Balansiya.

743 Arabic, al-Shugr. The region lies south of the city of Valencia. The modern Catalan name
of the river, Xúquer, continues the Arabic. See the article by A. Huici-Miranda in E12, s.v.
Djazirat Shukr.

744 ‘Nevertheless, because as an Ibadi, he might be expected to support a fellow member of
the same sect.

745 Cf. ed. Leiden, 352, where they are called “the descendants (wuld) of Muhammad b.
Sulayman ..." Wuld and Bani are synonymous.

746 On this large Berber tribe, see the article by T. Lewicki in £7°, s.v. Matmata.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 195

people of this city are Matmata. Another city, controlled by a man of theirs
named 'Ubaydallāh, is called al-Hasana (The Beautiful), if one translates the
name from Berber into Arabic. Then (one continues) to the greatest and most
renowned city in the Maghrib, which is called Tlemcen.?^" It is surrounded by
walls of stone, which in turn have other stone walls behind them. Tlemcen has
a large population and lofty palaces and dwellings. It is the residence of a man
named Muhammad b. al-Qasim b. Muhammad b. Sulayman. In the environs
of the city are Berber tribesmen called Miknasa and [S ...].’48 From there (one
continues) to the city named Madinat al-‘Alawiyyin (City of the ‘Alids), which
was under the control of 'Alids descended from Muhammad b. Sulayman. Then
they abandoned it, and one of the sons of the kings of the Zanata, called ‘Ali
b. Hamid b. Marhūm al-Zanati, settled in it. From there one continues to a city
called Numalata, where Muhammad b. ‘Ali b. Muhammad b. Sulayman resides.
The farthest part of the principality of the Banū Muhammad b. Sulayman b.
‘Abdallah b. al-Hasan b. al-Hasan is the city of Fālūsan, which is a large city
whose people | belong to Berber clans from the Matmata, Tarja, Jazzūla, San-
haja, Injifa and [...].749

After the principality of the Banū Muhammad b. Sulayman comes the prin-
cipality of a man named Salih b. Sa'id, who claims to be from (the Yemeni tribe
of) Himyar, butthe local people say that he is a native from the (Berber tribe of)
Nafza. The name of his chief city, in which he resides, is Nakur, which is on the
SaltSea.79? From this city, one of the descendants of Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik b.
Marwan, along with his companions from the house of Marwan, crossed over
into the peninsula of al-Andalus as they fled from the Banu l-Abbas.??! The
principality of Salih b. Sa'id al-Himyari extends for a ten days' journey amid
cultivated lands, fortresses, villages, dwellings, fields, livestock, and fertile land.
The farthest part of his principality is a city called [M ...],"5? atop a mountain,
which has rivers, valleys, and cultivated lands beneath it.

From there one continues to the principality of the Banu Idris b. Idris b.
‘Abdallah b. al-Hasan b. al-Hasan b. ‘Ali b. Abi Talib—may God's peace be upon

747 Arabic, Tilimsan; see the article by A. Bel and M. Yalaoui in EI”, s.v. Tilimsan.

748 Theunpointed letters of the tribal name are too ambiguous to read.

749 The unpointed letters of the tribal name are too ambiguous to read.

750 On the city and its rulers, see the article by Ch. Pellat in £77, s.v. Nakūr (Nukür).

751 AlYa'qübiis referring to ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Mu'awiya b. Hisham, who escaped the over-
throw of the Marwanid branch of the Umayyad dynasty during the ‘Abbasid Revolution
and fled into al-Andalus where he established his own kingdom, ruling from 138/756 to
172/788; see the article by Luis Molina in £13, s.v. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Mu‘awiya.

752 Theunpointed letters are too ambiguous to read.

357

358

196 THE GEOGRAPHY

him.” The border of their principality is a place called Ghumayra, which is the
residence of a man named 'Ubaydallāh b. ‘Umar b. Idris. Then one continues
to a place called Malhas (the Refuge), because of a caravanserai there where
the pilgrims coming from al-Sūs al-Agsā and Tangier gather. It is controlled
by ‘Ali b. ‘Umar b. Idris. Then one continues to Qal'at Sadina, a large place in
which Muhammad b. ‘Umar b. Idris resides. From Qal'at Sadina to the great
river called [L ...]75 there are fortresses, cultivated lands, and a large region
controlled by a descendant of Dawid b. Idris b. Idris. (One continues) to a river
called the Saba, controlled by Hamza b. Dawid b. Idris b. Idris. Then one enters
the chief city, called Ifriqiya City, on the great river called | Fez.755 Yahya b. Yahya
b. Idris b. Idris resides there. It is a majestic city, with many cultivated lands and
dwellings. On the west bank of the Fez River, a river said to be larger than all
other rivers of the world, there are 3,000 mills that grind."56 The city known
as City of the People of al-Andalus,’5” is where Dawid b. Idris resides. Yahya b.
Yahya and Dawid b. Idris are each opposed to the other, resisting and making
war upon one another. At the extreme limits of (the river) of Fez is a city called
[...],7*$ which has been settled by the Barqasana, a group of indigenous Berbers.
Along the Fez River there are majestic cultivated lands, villages, estates, and
farms on both banks. Its waters come from springs to the south, although they
say that the river neither increases nor decreases. It flows into the river called
the Sabi, which we have already mentioned, and the Sabū empties into the Salt
Sea. The principality of the Banu Idris is vast and large.

753 That is, the Idrisid dynasty of Morocco, ruled from 172/789 to 314/926. The Idrīsids were
descendants of ‘Ali through the Hasanid line. See the article by D. Eustache in EI”, s.v.
Idrisids (Adarisa).

754 The unpointed letters are too ambiguous to read.

755 Arabic, Fas; see the article by R. Le Tourneau and H. Terrasse in £1’, s.v. Fas.

756 The text of this section is only partially legible. The original copyist omitted a large chunk
of text and, upon noticing his omission, wrote the text in the margin. Unfortunately, the
margin has been torn. De Goeje in his note to this passage suggested reading /il-madina
for al-madina. This would give the meaning, “3,000 mills that grind for the city known as
the City of the People of al-Andalus, which is where ..." A city so populous as to require
3,000 mills to grind the flour for its bread is unlikely. Also, this would place the City of
the People of al-Andalus on the west side of the Fez River: it is really on the east side. The
translation therefore holds to the text as published, defective as it may be.

757 Arabic Madinat Ahl al-Andalus. This is no doubt a reference to the quarter of Fez known
as ‘Adwat al-Andalus.

758 The tear in the Ms has obliterated the name.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 197

Abu Ma'bad ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad b. Maymun b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab
b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Rustam al-Tāhartī”9 told me: Tāhart is a large, populous
city located amid mountains and valleys without any empty areas. Between it
and the Salt Sea is a journey of three stages on level terrain. Some of the terrain
is occupied by marshy salt flats (sibakh) and by a watercourse called Wadi
Shali£?9? along which there are villages and cultivated lands that it inundates
justas the Nile of Egypt inundates. Along it people grow safflower, flax, sesame,
and other seed-plants. The river continues to a mountain called Anqabaq; then
it goes on to the region of Nafza, and then it reaches the Salt Sea.

The people of the city of Tahart obtain their water from rivers and springs,
some of which come from the plain, while others come from a mountain to the
south called Jazzūl. The crops of that region never suffer at all, unless afflicted
by wind or cold. It is a mountainous region that stretches to Sus. The people of
Sus call it Daran; in Tahart, they call it the Jazzul; | and in the Zab, they call it
Aurēs.761

Whoever leaves Tāhart by the southwest road arrives at a city called Awzkā,
three stages away. It is controlled by a lineage of the Zanāta called the Banū
Masra. Their chief was Abd al-Rahmān b. Udamit b. Sinan. After him, power
passed to his descendants, and a son of his called Zayd moved to a place called
[Th ...],762 and his descendants are (still) there. From the city of Awzka one
travels west by road to territory belonging to the Zanāta. Then one continues
to the city of Sijilmasa after traveling for seven stages or so, depending on how
fast or slowly one travels. The route is through sparsely populated villages and
partly through desert.

Sijilmasa
Sijilmāsa is a city on a river called the Ziz."9? It has neither springs nor wells.
Between it and the sea is a journey of many stages. The population of Sijilmasa
is mixed; the Berbers, most of them Sanhāja, are in control there. Their crops are
millet and sorghum. They farm with the rains because of the scarcity of water
among them: if they get no rain, they raise no crops. To the city of Sijilmasa
belong villages known as thos 7 the Banu Dar‘a, among which is
no great size called Tamdalt, belonging to Yahya b. Idris al-‘Alawi, which is

759 AlYa'qübi's informant was a minor Rustamid prince, as indicated by his genealogy.

760 Conventionally, Oued Chélif, Algeria's largest river.

761 Arabic, Auras.

762 The unpointed letters are too ambiguous to read.

763 On this city, now mostly in ruins, located on the fringes of the desert in southeastern
Morocco about 300 km southeast of Fez, see the article by M. Terrasse in EI”, s.v. Sidji ilmāsa.

359

a city of

360

198 THE GEOGRAPHY

overlooked by a fortress. ‘Abdallah b. Idris came from Tamdalt. Around it there
are mines of gold and silver, which can be found (on the surface) like plants: it
is said that the winds blow it about. A group of Berbers called the Banu Tarja
are in control of the people there.

AlL-Sus al-Aqsa

From the city called Tamdalt one proceeds to a city called al-Sus, which is al-
Sus al-Agsā (Farthest Sūs).”%* It was settled by the Banu ‘Abdallah b. Idris b.
Idris. It has a mixed Berber population, with the Madāsa in control. From Sis
one proceeds to | a region called Aghmat, a fertile region with pasturage and
fields amid plains and mountains. Its people are Sanhaja Berbers. From Aghmat
one continues to Massa, a village on the sea to which commercial goods are
brought. It contains a mosque known as the Mosque of Bahlūl and a ribat on
the seacoast. The sea near the Mosque of Bahlül is (an anchorage) for stitched
boats (like those) built at Ubulla that one uses to sail to China.765

Whoever travels south by road from Sijilmasa toward the land of the
Blacks,7%6 (inhabited by) various black tribes, travels through wasteland and
desert for a distance of fifty days' journey. One then encounters a group of San-
haja called the Anbiya in the desert; they have no fixed dwelling. They all wrap
their faces with the tails of their turbans, and this is their custom. They do not
wear tunics, but only wrap their bodies in their robes. They live off camels,
having neither crops nor food derived from grain.”%7 Then (one continues) to
a region called Ghast, a cultivated valley with dwellings in it, where a king of
theirs resides. He has neither religion nor religious law and raids the regions of
the Blacks, who have many principalities.

764 On this district of southern Morocco, see the article by E. Lévi-Provencal and Cl. Lefébure
in EI2, s.v. al-Süs al-Aksa.

765 Forlong commercial voyages on rough seas, sailors often employed boats with relatively
flexible hulls composed of planks woven together with rope rather than attached with
nails or pegs. See Hourani, Arab Seafaring, 91-97.

766 Arabic ard al-sudan: for Arabic geographers the term covers all of sub-Saharan Africa, not
merely the modern Sudan.

767 Arabic ta‘am, usually means food in general, but the dictionaries note that it is often used
for wheat and barley (in the Hijaz) or for millet (in Yemen), and that seems to be the
meaning here. See Lane, Lexicon, 53854, s.v.

THE WESTERN QUARTER 199

Colophon™®®

Thus is completed The Book of Regions."9? Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.
May God bless Muhammad the Prophet and his Pure Household. ‘Ali b. Abi
Muhammad b. ‘Ali al-Kindi al-Anmati wrote it out, may God pardon him and
whatever he has said. Amen! Praise be to God, who is sufficient in His benedic-
tion, and blessings on Muhammad and his Household. Work on this copy was
finished the morning of Saturday, 21 Shawwal of the year 607.77? The work was
composed by Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih al-Katib.

768 Thecolophon of the Munich Ms is given in a note in the Leiden edition.
769 Arabic Kitab al-Buldan.
770 April 6,1211.

Fragments

FRAGMENTS 203
A Fragments from the Lost Part of the Geography?"!

1. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub, the author of Kitab al-Masalik wa-l-mamalik (The Book
of Routes and Principalities), said: There are 7,000 mosques in Basra.”72

2. Ibn Abi Ya‘qub mentions that the waters (of the river of Ahwaz) come from
two watercourses. One rises from Isfahan and flows past the Shadhurwan of
Tustar/?? ‘Askar Mukram, and Jundīshāpūr. It has a bridge across it that is
563 paces long and is called al-Masruqan. The other watercourse rises from
Hamadhan and flows on to al-Süs; it is called al-Hinduwan. Then the two
watercourses flow toward Manādhir al-Kubra, where one flows into the other,
forming one river called the Dujayl al-Ahwaz. From there it flows to al-Ahwaz
and continues until it empties into the Persian Gulf near Hisn Mahdi. In the
summer it dries up and the riverbed becomes a road that the caravans use. [The
people of this region have a special dialect that sounds like gibberish, but the
Persian language is the most common among them. |774

3. Shiraz | is the chief city of Fars. It is a great and majestic city in which the
governors reside. It is so spacious that there is not a single dwelling in it whose
master does not have in it a garden with all kinds of fruits, herbs, vegetables,
and everything else that grows in gardens. Its inhabitants obtain their drinking
water from springs that flow into rivers that come from mountains on which
snow falls.775

4. Al-Ya‘qubi said: [Nasibin] is a great city with many rivers, gardens, and
orchards. It has a large river called al-Hirmās, which has an ancient Roman

771 Seenotes 501 and 502 above.

772 Source: al-Idrisi, Nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtirāg al-afáq (Leiden, 1970—1984), 383.

773 The Shādhurwān of Tustar (from Persian shadurwan, curtain or tapestry; halo) was an
architectural marvel commented upon by many visitors to Tustar. From the description
in Yāgūt, s.v. Tustar, it appears to be a steep, massive aquaduct or, at least, the above-
ground portion of a larger ganat that brought water from the river inside the city walls.
This appears to be corroborated by modern archaeological work done in the city (see
The History of al-Tabari, X111, trans. G. H. A. Juynboll, 227-228). Pace De Goeje, in his
Glossarium to volumes 7 and 8 of the Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum, xxvii, this
has nothing to do with the Shadhurwan in Mecca, which is the low, semi-circular wall
that abuts the north face of the Ka‘ba also known as al-Hatim.

774 Source: Al-Watwat, Manahij al-fikar wa-mabahij al-'ibar,1:346—347. The phrase in brackets
may not belong to al-Ya‘qubi's original text.

775 Source: Al-Sharishi, Sharh Maqamat al-Hariri, 3:43.

361

362

204 FRAGMENTS

stone bridge over it. Its people are Arabs from the Banu Taghlib of Rabi‘a.
Ghanm b. ‘Tyad al-Ghanmi conquered it in the reign of Umar—may God be
pleased with him—in the year 18.776

5. Ibn Wadih said: The Second Qinnasrin is Hiyar Bani l-Qa‘qa‘.”””

6. Ibn Wadih included Martahwan and the district (kura) of Misrin in the
district (kūra) of Aleppo.778

7. Ibn Abi Ya'qub said: Al-Mansur??? built the city of al-Massisa during his
reign— before that it had been a garrison—and al-Ma'mün"9? built Kafarbayya.
The river Jayhan flows between them. Over the river is a large ancient stone
bridge with three arches on an area of high ground.”%!

8. Ibn Abt Ya‘qub said: In addition to these three cities (Antioch, al-Massisa, and
Tarsus) the Syrian Thughur??? also includes the city of ‘Ayn Zarba, which is in
the environs of al-Massisa.783

9. Ibn Abi Ya‘qub said: The city of Malatya is ancient, one of the constructions
of Alexander. In the lands of the Romans it is famous and borders Syria.79^

10. Al-Ya‘qubi said: Malatya is the chief city. It was ancient, but the Romans
destroyed it. Al-Mansūr rebuilt it in the year 139,795 enclosed it with a single
wall, and moved a number of Arab tribes to it. He also said: It is on level ground

776 Source: Ibid., 2:61. Ghanm b. Tyad al-Ghanmiis a copyist's error for ‘Iyad b. Ghanm al-Fihri,
the Muslim conqueror of northern Iraq.

777 Source: Ibn al-Shihna, Ta’rikh Halab, 164. Cf. Fragments C5, C10.

778 Source: Ibid., 166. Cf. Fragment C12.

779 ‘Abbasid caliph, r. 136—158/754—775; his rebuilding of al-Massisa has been noted above, ed.
Leiden, 238.

780 ‘Abbasid caliph, r. 198-218/813-833.

781 Source: Ibn al-Shihna, Ta’rikh Halab, 177-178. Cf. Fragments c18 & cig. Cf. Abū l-Fida,
Taqwim al-buldan (Paris, 1840), 251.

782 Thatis the frontier with Byzantium; see the article by C. E. Bosworth in £7, s.v. al-Thughūr.

783 Source: Ibn al-Shihna, Ta’rikh Halab, 182. Cf. Fragment c22.

784 Source: Ibid., 193. Cf. Fragment C26.

785 139A.H. = June 5, 756 - May 24, 757. On the destruction of the town by Constantine vi
in 133/750 and its subsequent rebuilding in the reign of al-Mansür, mentioned above, ed.
Leiden, 238, see the article by E. Honigmann in E12, s.v. Malatya.

FRAGMENTS 205

surrounded by the mountains of the Romans. Its water comes from springs and
watercourses coming from the Euphrates.796

11. Ibn Abi Ya‘qub said: Ra‘ban and Dulük are two districts close to each other.
Dulūk is a famous ancient city and used to be populous. It has a high citadel
of stone built by the Romans. It used to have an aqueduct set on arches upon
which the water ascended to the citadel. In its environs there are pleasant
houses carved into the stone. In its environs there are many sources of water
and orchards with abundant fruit. It is said that the stopping-place of David—
upon him be peace—was located here. From there he outfitted the army to
attack Qürus, and Uriya b. Hannan was killed there."87 [The city and the citadel
were destroyed and it survives today as a village inhabited by peasants. |788

12. Ibn Shaddad said: Ibn Abi Ya‘qub mentioned [Kaysum] in his Kitab al-
Buldan (Book of Regions) as one of the (cities of the frontier district of) al-
‘Awasim.789

13. Ibn Abi Ya‘qub said: Manbij is an ancient city that was conquered by treaty
granted by ‘Amr b. al-‘As under the authority of Abū ‘Ubayda b. al-Jarrah. It is
on the main part of the Euphrates.799

14. Ahmad al-Katib said: Adhana was built by al-Rashīd.”9! He is also the one
who built Tarsus.7??

15. Ahmad al-Kātib said: Alexandretta??? is a city on the coast of the Roman
Sea near Antioch. Ahmad b. Abi Du'ad al-Iyadi rebuilt it in the caliphate of al-
Wathiq.794

786 Source: Al-Sharishi 3:62. Cf. Fragment C26.

787 Ra'bàn, Dulük, and Qürus are towns in the border area called al-Awasim. Uriya is Uriah
the Hittite, the husband of Bathsheba, mentioned in 2Samuel n.

788 Source: Ibn al-Shihna, 219. Cf. Fragment c28. The sentence in brackets is from Ibn Shaddad
(d. 684/1285), Ibn al-Shihna's ultimate source, not al-Ya‘qubi.

789 Source: Ibid., 221. Cf. Fragment cgo.

790 Source: Ibid., 222. Cf. Fragment c8.

791 More precisely, al-Rashid (r. 170—193/786—809) rebuilt these cities.

792 Source: Abū |-Fidā', 249. Cf. Fragment C21.

793 Arabic: Bàb Iskandarüna.

794 Source: Abū I-FidZ,, 255. Cf. Fragment C25. Ahmad b. Abi Du’ad al-Iyādī was chief judge
under the ‘Abbasids starting with al-Mu'tasim (r. 218-227/833-842) until the year 232/847,

363

364

206 FRAGMENTS

16. Tiflis is a city in Armenia 30 farsakhs from Qaligala.”% At Qaliqala a number
of large rivers have their source. The first of them is the Euphrates, which has
been mentioned already. It??6 begins two farsakhs from Qaligala, then branches
off to the west to Dabil, [continues] to Warthan, and then empties into the
Khazar Sea. The second is the Kurr,’9” which flows from the city of Qaliqala
then branches off to the city of Tiflis and flows east | to the city of Bardha'a”*8
and its hinterland. Then it approaches the Khazar Sea and joins with the Aras
(al-Rass), so that they flow as one river. It is said that beyond the Aras there
are 300 ruined cities. These are the cities to which Almighty God refered, along
with the people of al-Rass.’99 He sent to them Hanzala b. Safwan, but they put
him to death and so they were destroyed. Other accounts have been given about
the people of al-Rass. Armenia is divided into three parts. The first part includes
the cities of Dabil, Qaliqala, Khilat, Shimshat, and al-Sawad. The second part
includes the cities of Bardha'a, al-Baylaqan, Qabala, and Bab al-Abwab.®°° The
third part includes the city of Jurzan, the city of Tiflis, and the city known
as Masjid Dhi l-Qarnayn (The Mosque of Alexander the Great). Armenia was
conquered in the caliphate of Uthmān by Salman b. Rabi'a al-Bahili in the year
24.801

in the reign of al-Mutawakkil. He died in 240/854. Al-Wathiq reigned from 227-232/842-
847.

795 On Tiflis (Arabic, Tiflis), see the article V. Minorsky and C. E. Bosworth in EI, s.v. Tiflis; on
Oālīgalā or Qali (modern Erzurum); see the article by Halil inalcik in £72, s.v. Erzurum.

796 As De Goeje noted, the sentence cannot refer to the Euphrates, which does not flow into
the Khazar/Caspian Sea. Since Warthàn was located on the Aras/al-Rass, which leads to
the Kurr river before emptying into the Caspian Sea, it is probably that river, or a portion
of it, that al-Ya‘qubi is discussing here.

797 Modern Kura.

798 Throughout, De Goeje reads this as Barda‘a.

799 Arabic Ashab al-Rass (Qur’an, 25:38). Commentators explanded the enigmatic reference
by supplying a pre-Islamic prophet, Hanzala b. Safwan, who warned his people (the Ashab
al-Rass) not to worship an idol, but was killed, after which God destroyed their city. See
the article by A. J. Wensinck in E12, s.v. Ashab al-Rass.

800 Bāb al-Abwab (the Gate of Gates), or simply al-Bab, was located near modern Derbend on
the western shore of the Caspian Sea. It was a massive fortification believed to have been
built by Alexander the Great, but was in fact a Sasanian foundation designed to keep their
Khazar enemies penned in to the north. See the article by D. M. Dunlop in £7’, s.v. Bab
al-Abwab.

801 Source: Al-Sharishi, 3:6. De Goeje adds: “Al-Ya‘qubi is not mentioned, but the account is at
least partly taken from his book.” 24A.H. = November 7, 644 — October 27, 645.

FRAGMENTS 207

17. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub said: Armenia is in three parts. The first part includes
Oālīgalā, Khilat, Shimshāt, and everything in between. The second part in-
cludes Jurzan, Tiflis, the city of Bab al-Lan, and everything in between. The third
part includes Bardha‘a, which is the chief-city of Arran, al-Baylaqan, and Bab
al-Abwab.802

18. Ahmad b. Wadih al-Isbahani mentioned that he resided for a long time in
the land of Armenia,®°? | worked as a secretary for a number of its kings and
governors, and had never seen aland more abounding in amenities or | richer in
wildlife. He mentioned that the number of its principalities is 113, among them
the principality of the Master of al-Sari1$9* between al-Lan and Bab al-Abwāb.
Leading to it there are only two roads: a road leading to the land of the Khazars,
and a road leading to the lands of Armenia, comprising 18,000 villages. Arran
is the first principality of Armenia, comprising 4,000 villages, most of them
villages of the Master of al-Sarir.

He mentioned that Bab al-Abwab is a wall that Anüshirwan$95 built and that
one end of it lies in the sea. Its base extends from the sea to a point at which
crossing is impossible. It extends seven farsakhs to an area of rough and rocky
terrain where passage through is impossible. It is built of square carved blocks,
each one no less than 50 feet [in length], and these blocks still remain.806
The blocks were interlocked with the other blocks using pegs. In these seven
farsakhs (of wall) were built seven roads, each road with a compound on it in
which was garrisoned a group of Persian soldiers called the Siyasikin.

He mentioned that a levy of men was imposed upon the people of Armenia
to guard the wall and its gates. Each of the seven roads has a gate. The width
of the wall at the top is such that twenty horsemen can pass along it without
crowding one another. At the city of al-Bab, at the Gate of Jihad, atop the wall
there are two stone columns. Atop each column is the image of a lion made of

802 Source: Abū |-Fidā”, 387.

803 De Goeje stops here and does not provide the complete text of this lengthy fragment,
found in Ibn al-Fagīh, 290—292. What follows has been supplied from Ibn al-Fagīh (as did
Wiet, 232—233); page references in this excerpt (in italics in the margin) refer to the Leiden
edition of Ibn al-Faqih.

804 A local ruler renowned for the golden throne (sarīr) that the Sasanian Shah Khusraw 1
Anūshirwān (r. 531-579 C.E.) bestowed on his ancestor. See al-Ya‘qubi, Ta’rikh, 2:382.

805 Khusraw 1 Anūshirwān (r. 531-579 C.E.).

806 The measurement used by al-Ya'qübi (Ar. rijl) here is not very common or exact. As in
English, the measurement also literally means "foot," as in the appendage, so we can take
take it to mean something less than 12 inches.

290
291

292

364

365

208 FRAGMENTS

white stone. At the foot of the two columns are two stones with images of lions
on them. Near the gate is a stone image of a man with, between his legs, an
image of a fox with a cluster of grapes in his mouth. Next to the city is a cistern
knownas the Cistern of Ma'rüf. It has stairs, | by which one can descend into the
cistern when water is scarce. On both sides of the stairway are lions of stone; on
one of them is a stone image of a man. At the Gate of Governance is an image
of two lions, also of stone, standing outside the wall. The people of al-Bab say
that they are the talismans of the city wall.8°7

B Fragments from Other Works?08

1. Muhammad b. Ahmad b. al-Khalīl b. Saīd al-Tamimi al-Maqdisi said in his
book entitled Perfume for the Bride and Basil for the Souls:8°9 Musk is of many
kinds and varieties. The finest and most expensive is from Tibet. It is obtained
from a place called Dhū Samt, two months’ journey from Tibet, transported
from there to Tibet, and then carried to Khurasan ... He also said: Ahmad b.
Abi Ya‘qub, a client of the Banu l-Abbas, said: A group of men knowledgeable |
about sources of musk mentioned to me that its sources in the land of Tibet and
elsewhere are well-known. The importers build there constructions resembling
a lighthouse®!° a cubit in height. The animal, in whose navel the musk forms,
comes and rubs its navel against this "lighthouse" until the navel falls off right
there. The importers then come at a time of year known to them and gather
(the musk) as they like. When they bring it into Tibet, they must pay a tithe
from it ... He also said: The finest musk comes from gazelles that feed on a grass
called al-kadahmas, which grows in Tibet and Kashmir, or one of the two. Ibn
Abi Ya qub mentioned that the name of this grass is al-kandahasah.!

807 It was common in the medieval Near East to attribute talismanic properties (against
sickness, snake-bite, infertility, etc.) to certain distinctively carved stones or ancient spolia
purposely or accidentally imbedded in the fabric of city walls. Such stones were said to
protect the inhabitants from all such maladies or pests.

808 The translation here returns to the Leiden edition of the Buldan.

809 The reading of the title as Tib al-‘arus wa-rayhān al-nufus, for De Goeje's Jayb al-‘aris ...,
is confirmed in al-Qalqashandi, Subh al-a'shà fi sinā'at al-inshā”, 2:126.

810 Arabic manar. The word (literally, a place for light) could denote a lighthouse, a minaret,
or an obelisk, among other things, as documented by Dozy, Supplément, 2:744.

811 Fragments B1-B12 are from al-Nuwayrī, Nihayat al-arab fi funūn al-adab, 12:1-8, the most
detailed Arabic account of musk. See the article by A. Dietrich in £7, s.v. Misk.

FRAGMENTS 209

2. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub said: The finest musk is the Tibetan; after it, Sogdian
musk; after Sogdian, Chinese musk. The finest Chinese musk is that which
comes from Canton.®!? This is the great city that is the port of China where the
ships of Muslim merchants anchor. The musk is then transported by sea to al-
Zuqaq.®! By the time it approaches the region of al-Ubulla, its scent is so strong
that the merchants cannot hide it from the tithe agents. Once it is removed
from the ships, its scent becomes good and the scent of the sea dissipates from
it.

Next comes Indian musk, which is what is imported from Tibet to India, then
carried to al-Daybul and shipped across the sea. It is inferior to the first sort.

After Indian musk comes the musk of Qinbar. This is a good musk, although
it is inferior to the Tibetan in value, essence (al-jawhar), color, and scent. It is
obtained from a land called Qinbar, between China and Tibet. Sometimes they
cheat and pass it off as Tibetan.

He said: Following this in quality is the musk of the Tughuz-Ughuz. It is a
heavy musk, tending toward black. It is obtained from the land of the Tughuz-
Ughuz Turks. The merchants import it and try to cheat with it, but it has neither
essence nor color. It is slow to grind and is not devoid of roughness.

Following this in quality is the musk of Qisar. It is obtained it from a little
region called Qisar, between India and China. He said: It can approach the
Chinese musk, but is inferior to it in value, essence, and scent.

He said: Then there is the musk of Khirjiz.8!^ It is a musk that looks like the
Tibetan and otherwise resembles it. It is yellow | with a faint scent.

After it comes the musk of ‘Ismar, the weakest of all the varieties of musk and
the lowest in value: the gland in which one ounce ripens produces a dirham’s
worth of musk.8!5

Then comes Jabali musk, which is obtained from a region of the land of Sind
in the area of al-Mūltān. It comes from large glands, is of fine color, but is weak
in scent.

812 Arabic Khāngū (modern Chinese Guangzhou).

813 Thatis “the Strait’—presumably the Strait of Malacca, the only passage west from Canton
in China to the Persian Gulf town of al-Ubulla.

814 The reading of this name is based on the 1964 edition of al-Nuwayrī, Nihayat al-arab. De
Goeje, in his edition of the Buldan, printed it as “al-Harjiri (sic)."

815 The dirham is a silver coin of varying weight and value, and of less value than the gold
dinar. Since even only a very little of the best musk could be worth many dinars, al-Ya'qübi
is here showing just how poor in quality this variety of musk is.

366

210 FRAGMENTS

He said: [The musk called] Sogdian is what is purchased by the merchants
of Khurasan from Tibet. They transport it loaded on animals to Khurasan, then
it is transported from Khurasan to all points.®!6

3. Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Tamimi said: My father related to me from his father
that Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub said: Ambergris is of many kinds and varieties. Its
sources are widely scattered and it varies in quality depending on its source and
essence. The most excellent kind, the most profitable, best in quality, finest in
color, purest in essence, and dearest in value is the ambergris of al-Shihr. It is
what the Indian Ocean casts up on the shores of al-Shihr in the land of Yemen.
They claim that it is cast up from the sea in lumps the size of a camel or a large
boulder.

Al-Tamīmī ... said: My father also related to me from his father from Ahmad
b. Abi Ya'gūb, who said: The wind and the force of the waves break it up and
cast it onto the shore. It is boiling, so that nothing can approach it due to the
intensity of its heat and boiling. After it sits for a few days and the breeze blows
over it, it congeals, and the people from the coastal areas neighboring its source
collect it.

He said: Sometimes the great fish called al-bal (that is, the whale) comes and
swallows some of the floating ambergris as it boils. Before it can settle in its
stomach, the great fish dies and floats to the surface, and the sea casts it up on
the shore. They cut open its stomach and the ambergris inside it is removed:
this is “fish-amber” (al-‘anbar al-samakt), also called “swallowed amber" (al-
mablū').

Hesaid: Sometimes the sea casts up a piece of ambergris and a black bird like
a tern®!” sees it and makes for it, hovering with its wings. When it approaches
and descends on it, it becomes stuck in it with its claws and beak and it dies
and decomposes, but its beak and claws remain in the ambergris. This is “beak-
amber" (al-‘anbar al-manāgīrī).

816 De Goeje adds: “It is not certain that all of this account comes from Ya‘qubi.”

817 Arabic khuttāf. The dictionaries (Lane and Dozy) give ‘swallow’ as the translation, but the
context implies a seabird. For khuttaf as “tern,” see al-Nijūmī, A/-Tuyūr al-Misriyya, 168,
which gives khuttaf as the Arabic for the genus Sterna. The color black suggests some sort
of petrel, but the true explanation probably has nothing to do with bird beaks, but with
the fact that “ambergris frequently contains the hard mandibles (beaks) of a cuttle-fish
which serves as food to the spermwhale" (J. Ruska and M. Plessner in £7, s.v. Anbar).

FRAGMENTS 211

4. He said: After the ambergris of al-Shihr (in quality) comes the ambergris
of Zanj, which is brought | from the land of the Zanj to Aden.?!8 It is white
ambergris.

After it comes the ambergris of al-Salahit, which is varies in quality. The best
kind of Salahiti ambergris is grayish-blue and very greasy. This is the kind used
in perfumes called ghdliya.®!9

After Salahiti ambergris comes the ambergris of Qaqula, which is bright
gray, of excellent aroma, fine-looking, light, and slightly dry. It is inferior to
the Salahiti and is adequate neither for ghaliya perfumes nor for purification,
except out of necessity. However, it is adequate for powders and plasters. This
ambergris comes from the sea of Qaqula to Aden.820

After Qaquli ambergris comes Indian ambergris, which comes from the
inner coasts of India and is transported to Basra and other places.

After it comes the Zanji ambergris, which comes from the coasts of the Zanj
and resembles Indian ambergris and is similar to it.

This is what al-Tamimi mentions in Perfume for the Bride. He ranks Zanji
ambergris after Shihri ambergris, and even puts Zanji ambergris after Indian
ambergris. (Al-Tamimi) said: From India comes a kind of ambergris called al-
kark bālūs, named after a group of Indians known as al-Kark Bālūs who import
it and take it to a place near Oman, where sea-merchants buy it from them.
(Al-Tamīmī) said: As for Maghribi ambergris, it is inferior to all these kinds. It
comes from the sea of al-Andalus, and merchants carry it to Egypt. It is similar
in color to Shihri ambergris, and so they sometimes cheat with it ...

Ahmad b. Abi Ya'gūb said: A group of people knowledgeable about amber-
gris told me that it occurs in hills of various colors that grow on the bottom of
the sea. The winds and the force of the sea during heavy winter rains cause it
to rise up. For that reason, it is scarcely possible to get any during the summer.

5. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub said: When the aloe wood of Khmer is ripe, it contains
much water.8?!

Ibn Abi Ya‘qub said: After the aloe wood of Qaqula (in quality) comes the
aloe wood of Champa.??? It is imported from a land called Champa in the

818 That is, from East Africa.

819 A fancy style of perfume, usually a heady mixture of musk and ambergris.

820 Oāgula is an unidentified port on the Malay Peninsula.

821 Following the translation suggested by Wiet, 238, n. 3. On the many varieties of aromatic
aloe wood (Arabic d) used in medicine, perfume, and incense, see the article by C.
E. Bosworth in £7?, s.v. Üd.

822 ArabicSanf,the southeast Asian region of Champa, now in central and southern Vietnam.

367

368

212 FRAGMENTS

vicinity of China. Between it and China stands an impassable mountain. It is
the very best variety of aloe wood, and it provides the longest-lasting (scent)
for clothing. There are some who prefer it over the Qaquli aloe wood, and who
consider it to be nicer, with a longer-lasting and more durable aroma. There are
also some who place it higher than the aloe wood of Khmer.823

Ahmad b. Abi Ya'gūb said: There is also a type of aloe wood called al-qashur,
which is soft and blue. It has a sweeter aroma than the qata' (variety of aloe
wood),®24 but is less valuable. (The finest kind of Chinese [aloe wood] is a
kind of it called al-qata‘). He said: There are also other types of Chinese (aloe
wood) inferior to these types, including al-mantawi or al-manta’t, which comes
in large pieces, smooth, black, and without knots in it. Its scent is not highly
regarded, but it is suitable for medicines, powders, and digestive remedies (al-
jawarshanat).8?5 There is a kind known as al-jallat and a kind known as al-
lawāgī or al-lūgīnī: they are comparable in value.

Al-Tamīmī said: Some people rank Chinese aloe wood differently than does
Ahmad b. Abi Ya'qüb ...

6. As for Indian spikenard (sunbul), Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub said: Spikenard comes
in varieties, the best of which is the variety in which the rhizomes are red and
"stripped" (musallal).826 "Stripped" means that it has had its bark peeled and
rubbed off so that the rhizomes are exposed. If one holds it in one's hand for
a while and then smells it, its scent is like the scent of apples or something
similar. The next variety is a type with red rhizomes tending toward white or
variegated. It has a lovely scent, close to that of the first kind. The poorest
variety is powdered spikenard (from) the main part (of the stem); it does not
count as good perfume. As for the origin of spikenard, it is an herb that grows in
India and also in Tibet. Itis said that in India it grows in valleys as crops do; then
it dries up and people come, harvest it, and collect it. The valleys in which this
spikenard grows are said to have many snakes, so that no one can go to them

823 De Goeje here notes: "The passages that precede this one, on the varieties called al-
mandali [from al-Mandal, in India], al-qamurüni [from Kamrup, in Bengal], al-saman-
dūrī, al-sandafūrī and the Chinese, are perhaps also to be attributed in part to Ya‘qubi.’

824 Thevoweling and meaning of this variety of aloe wood is uncertain. If it refers to a place-
name, al-Qata' or the like, it remains unidentified.

825 For Persian al-jawarishat.

826 Al-Ya'gūbī uses the word 'usfūra, “peg” to describe the rhizomes or underground rootstalk
of the spikenard plant, which were crushed and distilled into a deep amber aromatic oil.
On this term, see Dozy, Supplément, s.v. -S-F-R.

FRAGMENTS 213

without | tall, thick boots shod with wood or iron on his feet. They say that these
snakes have horns containing a lethal poison called bish. Some say that bish is
derived from the horns of the snake, but a group of experts say that it is a plant
that grows in those valleys.9?" It is of two sorts: a pinkish sort,?? tending toward
yellow in color, which is the better sort, and a sort tending toward black. (The
local growers) know it and guard against it, although sometimes some of them
do not recognize it and, touching it, die, especially if their hand is sweaty or
damp. One of the caliphs used to appoint someone over the ships coming from
the land of India to al-Ubulla and other ports to inspect and test the spikenard
and remove any bish. It would be removed using iron tongs: no one could touch
it without dying on the spot. It would be collected in a container and tossed into
the sea.

7. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub said: All cloves are of one species. The best and finest
are the flowers that are strong, hard, dry, fragrant, spicy-flavored, and sweet-
smelling. From it come flowers and fruits. Its flowers are small, resembling the
wood of the branches of hellebore, black in appearance. Its fruits are larger,
resembling a date pit or olive stone. It is said that it is the fruit of a giant tree
resembling the lote tree. Others say ...

He said: It is imported from the leeward coast and most distant regions of
India. At its places of origin there is an odor so fragrant and penetrating that
they call the clove regions “The Breeze of Paradise” because of the fragrance of
its odor...

8. Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Tamimi mentioned in his book entitled Perfume
for the Bride, in the chapter on ghāliya perfume, a great many varieties of it.
We will relate from it what sorts of ghaliya used to be prepared for caliphs,
kings, and great men. According to Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub, to prepare one of
the ghaliya perfumes of the caliphs 100 mithgāls of rare Tibetan musk were
taken and ground... This ghaliya, containing equal quantities of ambergris and
musk, used to be prepared for Humayd al-Tūsī and pleased al-Ma'mun greatly.
This ghāliya also used to be prepared for Umm Ja‘far ...829 They also used to

827 AlYa'qübi's experts are right: al-bish is the poisonous plant aconite, better known in
varieties such as wolfsbane and monkshood.

828 Arabic khalanjī the color of khalanj, a kind of tree with aromatic wood. The translation
“pinkish” is based on De Goeje's glossary in Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum, 8:xix
(of a color between red and yellow).

829 Umm Jaffar is Zubayda, a wife of Harün al-Rashid and a key figure of his court.

369

379

214 FRAGMENTS

manufacture this ghāliya for Muhammad b. Sulayman ...83° They also used to
manufacture for Umm Ja‘far a variety called ambergris ghaliya (ghaliyat al-
anbar) ...93!

9. A description of ramik perfume and of another compound perfumes, about
which al-Tamimi related from Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub that he had prepared some
and that it was the most excellent of the compound perfumes. Ibn Abi Ya‘qub
said: The recipe for preparing rāmik is: Take a nice ripe gallnut ...

10. As for the method (of mixing) bān oil832 with aromatics to obtain a refined
ban, there are is the Kufan way, and the Medinan way. As for the Kufan, Ahmad
b. Abi Ya‘qub, the mawla of the ‘Abbasids, said about it: Take oil ... As for
Medinan ban, the people of Medina cook it with perfumed aromatics ... But
this oil is not fit for use in ghaliya perfumes because the odors of ambergris
and musk are overpowered by the fragrance and sharpness of the aromatics.
Kings do not use it except to anoint their hands in the winter. Women use it in
their perfumes and veils.

11. As for apple water and the perfume made from it, al-Tamimi said, from
Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub, about the manufacture of perfumed apple water: Take
Syrian apples ...

12. A description of another royal pill to combat bad breath. Al-Tamimi men-
tions it in his book, and says that he took [the account] from Ahmad b. Abi
Ya'qub, namely ...833

830 This is probably the ‘Abbasid princeling of this name resident in al-Basra, a contemporary
of al-Rashid's, and renowned for his wealth.

831 This fragment is abridged.

832 This is the oil obtained from the seeds of the ben tree (Moringa oleifera, also called
Moringa aptera); see the article by L. Kopf in £7, s.v. Ban.

833 Onal-Tamīmī, see Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, Uyūn al-anb@ fi tabaqat al-atibba’ (Beirut, 1965), 546—
548. De Goeje adds: "[Al-Tamīmīs] work, Jayb al-'arus wa-rayhān al-nufüs, on which see
among others Yāgūt, 4:828, line off. ... does not appear to have survived. In the library of
Paris is a part (Chapters 11-14) of his work Murshid, which H. D. van Gelder examined
for me, and in which he found no mention of our author. Al-Tamimi was living until at
least 370/980 (Ibn Abi Usaybi‘a, 548). Ibn Abi Usaybi‘a (547) affirms in clear words that
his grandfather, Sa'id, was al-Ya'qübi's companion on a journey: ‘His grandfather Sa‘id was
a physician and he accompanied Ahmad b. Abi Ya qub, mavlā of the ‘Abbasids.’”

FRAGMENTS 215

13. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub said: The Christians of al-Hira are called al-Tbād
because when five of them went as a delegation to Kisra, he said to one of them,
“What is your name?" "Abd al-Masīh” the man replied. He said to the second,
“What is your name?" “Abd Yālīl,” he replied. He said to the third, “What is your
name?” “Abd Yāsū'” he replied. He said to the fourth, “What is your name?"
“Abd Allah,” he replied. He said to the fifth, "What is your name?” “Abd ‘Amr,’
he replied. So Chosroés said, “You are all 'Abds (Tbād)” and so they are called
‘Tbad.834

14. Ahmad b. Abt Ya‘qub, one of the children of Ja‘far b. Wahb, said: During his
reign, al-Wathiq distributed 5,000,000 dinars in alms, gifts, and pious donations
in Baghdad, Samarra, Kufa, Basra, Medina, and Mecca. At his behest, after the
fire that struck the markets of Baghdad, al-Walid b. Ahmad b. Abi Du’ad went
to Baghdad with 500,000 dinars and distributed them to the merchants who
had lost their property in the fire. Their conditions improved as a result: they
rebuilt their markets in plaster and baked brick and made iron doors for their
stalls.835

15. Ahmad the secretary said: Ahmad b. Tulün spent 120,000 dinars on his
mosque.5?6 The builders said to him, “According to what model shall we con-
struct the minaret?" Ahmad, who never used to fool around during his meet-
ings, took a roll of paper and began playing with it, so that part of it came out
from his hand and part of it remained in his hand. The people present were
astonished. He said, “Construct the minaret according to this model.’ So they
built it.537 When the construction of the mosque was finished, Ahmad b. Tūlūn
had a dream in which Almighty God seemed to manifest Himself to the enclo-

834 Source: Al-Bakrī, Kitab Mujam mā ista'jam, 18. Tbād is the plural of ‘abd (slave of, servant
of), a frequent component of names. De Goeje notes: “Perhaps this account (about the
Tbād) is from a fuller recension of the History than that which Houtsma edited. For a
passage praised by the Caliph al-Wathiq in the work Rayhan al-albab (Leiden Ms, f. 179
verso) is also fuller than the account cited in the text (of the History) edited by Houtsma
(Ta'rikh, 2:590)” De Goeje then provides this longer account about al-Wāthig, which is
the next account translated here (no. 14). The translator has not been able to consult the
manuscript of the Rayhan al-albab.

835 Thatis, asa measure to prevent fires, reeds, straw, or wood were not used in the new shops.
As noted above, this account, from Rayhan al-albab (Leiden Ms, f. 179 verso), appears to be
a longer version of the account in the surviving recension of the History (Ta’rikh, 2:590).

836 Ahmad b. Tülün (d. 270/884) was governor of Egypt and founder of the Tūlūnid dynasty
of Egypt and Syria.

837 The account shows how Ibn Tülün used a roll of paper (darj, for the meaning see Dozy,

371

372

216 FRAGMENTS

sure that surrounded the mosque, but did not manifest Himself to the mosque
itself. Ahmad asked the dream interpreters about it, and they said, "That which
surrounds it will fall into ruin, | and it will remain standing alone." He said,
^Whence do you infer this?" They said, "From the words of Almighty God, And
when his Lord revealed Himself to the mountain, He made it crumble to dust,838
and from the words of the Prophet— God's blessings and peace be upon him—
"When God manifests Himself to something, it is abased before Him?” And it
happened as they said.9??

16. Ahmad b. Abi Ya'gūb the secretary reported, saying: When it was the eve
of the Feast of the Fast-breaking of the year 292,9*? I recalled what this feast
was like under Ibn Tūlūn, with its fancy dress and arms, the colorful flags and
banners, the glamorous clothes, the many mounts, and the sound of horns and
drums. Tears and sorrow overwhelmed me, and as I slept that night I heard a
voice calling:

Kingship, glory, and glamor
vanished with the Tūlūnids' departure.9*

17. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub said:

If you would know the grandeur of their kingdom,

turn aside and enjoy the Great Square's green expanse.8*?
Behold those palaces, what they contained;

delight your eyes with the beauty of that garden.
But ponder well: a lesson lies there, too,

that tells you of the fickle ways of Time.

Supplément, 1:431) to form a cone illustrating the spiral shape of the minaret, still visible
today.

838 Quran 7243.

839 Source: Ibn Taghribirdi, 3:8. De Goeje notes: "Ibn Taghribirdi gives this account ... from a
lost part of the History."

840 That is, the holiday (‘Id al-Fitr) that follows the fast of Ramadan: 6 August 905.

841 DeGoejenotes:"Thetextin al-Maqrizi, 1:326, is probably from the same part of the History.
See my Descriptio al-Maghribi, 20” See the modern edition: al-Magrīzī, Kitab al-Mawaiz
wa-Litibār bi-dhikr al-khitat wa-l-athar, 2:141, citing Muhammad b. Abi Ya‘qub.

842 The Great Square (al-Maydān) is probably to be located in al-Qata'i', the new city north of
Fustat founded by Ibn Tülün to be the seat of government. The great mosque built by Ibn
Tülün was also located in it.

FRAGMENTS 217

The murder of Harun pulled up their roots,
and grizzled Shayban’s head, who was their chief.
The strength of Qays availed them naught at dawn
amid a clamorous host, nor Ghassan’s might.
Neither ‘Adiya, who was brave, nor Khazraj bold
were helped to victory by their brother ‘Adnan.
Egypt, like a bride, was escorted to the house of Prophethood and
Guidance
and torn away from Satan’s partisans.943

18. Similar to this is what al-Ya‘qubi recounted, saying: | [Someone once said:]
I went to the door of Hamduna, the daughter of (the caliph) al-Rashid, and
Dugāg, her female client, came out. In her hand was a fan, which had written

on one side: “A cunt needs two cocks more than a cock needs two cunts.” And

on the other side: "Just as a millstone needs two mules more than a mule needs

two millstones."844

843

844

De Goeje found this poem cited in al-Magrīzī, Khitat, 2336, but it appears first in al-Kindī,
Kitab al-wulat wa-kitab al-gudāt, 250. The poem alludes to the events that precipitated
the fall of the Tülünid dynasty in 292/905. Ahmad b. Tūlūn, after ruling for ten years, was
succeeded upon his death in 270/884 by his son Khumarawayh, who was assassinated
in 282/896. Khumarawayh's son, Jaysh, was deposed by the army in 283/896, leaving his
brother Harün, to whose assassination in 292/905 the poem alludes, apostrophizing it as
having “pulled up their roots and grizzled the head of Shayban, who was their chief" (a pun
on the meaning of shayban, ‘gray hair) —i.e., Shaybàn b. Ahmad b. Tūlūn, the last of the
Tūlūnids—as well as the murder of his nephew Hārūn—whose quasi-independent rule in
Egypt was ended by invading ‘Abbasid forces, which restored Egypt to direct ‘Abbasid rule,
an event to which the poem perhaps alludes, although this remains unclear. The poem also
may be alluding satirically to the fact that Ahmad b. Tülün, though of Turkish descent,
named several of his sons after famous Arab tribes—Qays, Ghassan, ‘Adiya, Khazraj, and
‘Adnan, whose “valor availed them naught.” For further details and bibliography, see the
article by M. S. Gordon in EI”, s.v. Tülünids; to which one should add Thierry Bianquis,
"Autonomous Egypt from Ibn Tūlūn to Kāfūr, 868-969,” in The Cambridge History of
Egypt, Volume One: Islamic Egypt, 640-1517, 86—19; Michael Bonner, “Ibn Tülün's Jihad: The
Damascus Assembly of 269/883"; and Mathieu Tillier, ^I étoile, la chaine et le Jugement.”

De Goeje adds: "This account, which [Muhammad b. Ahmad] al-Tījānī (d. after 709/1309)
praises in his work Tuhfat al-'arüs [wa-rawdat al-nufüs], might come from the same part
of the text (Leiden Ms 330, f. 122 verso)" The translator has not been able to consult
the manuscript of al-Tijani's work, but, significantly, this passage does not appear in the
published edition of the Tuhfa (ed. Jalil al-Atiya, London, 1992).

373

218 FRAGMENTS
19. Describing Samarqand, Ibn Wadih said:

Samarqand is so exalted that she is called
“the Ornament of Khurāsān” and “the Paradise of Provinces.”
Are her towers not suspended
from a height that the eye cannot reach?
And below her towers are her trenches:
pits so deep that nothing can leave them.
It is as if she, encircled by her walls
and surrounded by shady trees,
Were a full moon, her rivers the Milky Way, and
her fortresses like the brightest stars.945

C New Fragments?46

1. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub recounts in the Book of Routes that he composed that
there is a deserted house at Nahr Tira, and whoever (tries) to settle in it cannot
stay more than a day, nor will he be able to pass the night (there).84”

2. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub said: The best musk in odor and appearance is that
which has the color of an apple. Its odor is like that of the apples of Lebanon.
Its color tends toward yellow; it is medium-sized, neither large nor overly fine.
(The second best) is blacker, but similar in odor and appearance. (In the last
place) is the kind that is even blacker. It is the lowest in quality and value.848

3. [Ahmad b. Abt Ya'qub] also said:

A sudden blow was struck from the East, hurtling down
to beset the Banu Tūlūn.

845 De Goeje notes: “Ido not know whence the following verses, accepted by Yāgūt, 3:136, were
taken.”

846 The following fragments were not included by De Goeje in his edition.

847 Idrisi, 399. Cited by Wiet, 228, who notes that he did not verify the passage in question,
having seen it at the last moment in Jaubert's translation of Idrisi. The present translation
differs slightly from Wiet's.

848 Al-Qalqashandi, 2328. Cited by Wiet, 234. The present translation, like Wiet's, differs
slightly from the reading in the Beirut edition. Also, in his translation of this fragment,
Wiet included a few lines not given here that are from al-Qalqashandi, not al-Ya'qübi.

FRAGMENTS 219

How can the prosperity of these poor creatures be hoped for
while Ibn Abba oversees the secular and the sacred?
By a man of deceit and by perverse reasoning
were the precepts of justice imposed upon us.
We have seen (no one) of the family of Talun
whom he has not ill-treated, (making him) hostage to idleness.94?

4. Ahmad b. Abi Ya'gūb said:

The abode, after the dispersal of the camel-litters,
rejoices at the dispersal of its residents.
It shows no regret for its masters,
for in their departure is rest for their neighbors.
They have left, and may they not stop in some flowered garden!
and may the rain of an approaching cloud bypass them.
May they be deprived of the gush of the rain-cloud wherever they go,
and may the assault of the All-Merciful scatter them.
How heavily they weighed on the shoulders of grandeur,
and how far their hands withdrew from beneficence!
How detestable was the reign by which they thrived,
and how much it deserved the collapse of its foundations!
They did not accompany God's favors with thanks for them,
so He compensated them with the compensation due ingratitude.
Egypt is delivered of them, but O what
calumny awaits the land of Iraq!$50

5. Ibn Wadih said: ... and the Second Qinnasrin is Hiyar Bani al-Qa'qa*.55!

6. Ibn Wadih said: ... and the subdistrict of First Qinnasrin, which is a city on
the main part of the Great Road. In it there are tribesmen from Tanükh.59?

7. I copied the following from the Book of Regions composed by Ahmad b.
Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih the secretary: The subdistricts belonging to the military

849 Kindi, 251. Cited by Wiet, 245. The verse refers to the death of Ahmad b. Tūlūn and the rise
of the regent Ibn Abba in 270/883.

850 Kindi, 252. Cited by Wiet, 245-246.

851 From Ibn al-‘Adim, Bughyat al-talab min ta’rikh Halab, 1:74.

852 Ibid.

220 FRAGMENTS

district ( jund) of Qinnasrin and al-‘Awasim: the subdistrict of Antioch. It is
an ancient city, of which it is said that there is no equal to it with regard
to the sturdiness and impressiveness of its city walls in either the land of
Islam or the land of the Romans. It has a stone city wall, inside of which are
chambers (so large) that horsemen can ride into them. I have been told that
the circumference of the city wall, which surrounds the city and the mountain
at whose foot the city lies, is 12 Arab miles. The city of Antioch was conquered
by treaty—Abu 'Ubayda b. al-Jarrah arranged the treaty with them and they
possess the treaty document to this day. Located there in a church called the
Qusyan Church is the hand which is said to be the hand of Yahya b. Zakariya—
peace be upon him.853 The city has a river called the Orontes, along which lie
cultivated fields and gardens. The city also has many springs that come from
the mountain and flow among the dwellings of the city, so that the people make
use of the water in them as they like. The majority of its people are non-Arabs,
but there are also some descendants of Salih b. ‘Ali al-Hashimi and some Arabs
belonging to the tribal faction of Yemen.854

8. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih the secretary mentioned in the Book of Regions
while enumerating the subdistricts of the military district ( jund) of Qinnasrin
and al-‘Awasim: ... and the subdistrict of Manbij, which is an ancient city,
conquered by treaty. ‘Amr b. al-‘As arranged its treaty under the authority of
Abu ‘Ubayda b. al-Jarrah. The city is on the main part of the Euphrates. In it is
a mixture of peoples, Arab and non-Arab. There are also dwellings and palaces
belonging to ‘Abd al-Malik b. Salih b. ‘Ali al-Hashimi.955

9. I copied the following from the Book of Regions composed by Ahmad b. Abi
Ya‘qub b. Wadih the secretary, who, in mentioning Bālis, says: It is an ancient
city on the banks of the Euphrates at the foot of a mountain. From it trading
goods that arrive from Egypt and the rest of the land of Syria are loaded onto
ships bound for Baghdad. The land tax of Balis is administered by the tax agent

853 That is, John the Baptist.

854 Ibn al-‘Adim, 1:88. Salih b. ‘Ali was a prominent early ‘Abbasid kinsman and governor of
Syria.

855 Ibid., 1107-108. Ibn al-Adim adds that al-Ya'qübi is wrong to place Manbij on the Euphra-
tes: he is rather thinking of Jisr Manbij. Moreover, he adds, some accounts credit Tyād
b. Ghanm with the conquest of Manbij. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Salih was a powerful ‘Abbasid
kinsman and governor of Syria. His estate at Manbij is said to have attracted the envy of
the caliph al-Rashid.

FRAGMENTS 221

of Diyar Mudar, while its military and religious affairs are administered by the
tax agent of the military district ( jund) of Qinnasrin and al-‘Awasim. Its people
are a mixture of Arabs and non-Arabs.5°

10. I read in the Book of Regions by Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih the secretary
in his enumeration of the subdistricts of the military district ( jund) of Qinnas-
rin and al-‘Awasim: ... and the subdistrict of First Qinnasrin, which is a city on
the main part of the Great Road. In it there are tribesmen from Tanükh; and the
district of Second Qinnasrin, which is Hiyar Bani al-Qa'qa'. Its people are from
‘Abs, Fazara, and other Qaysi tribes.%7

n. Ibn Wadih the secretary said: Ma'arrat al-Nu‘man is an ancient, ruined city.
Itis populated by the Tanukh.858

12. Ibn Wadih the secretary enumerated the subdistricts belonging to the mili-
tary district ( jund) of Qinnasrin and al-‘Awasim, saying: ... and the subdistrict
of Martahwan and the subdistrict of Ma'arrat Misrin.859

13. Ibn Wadih the secretary said: Opposite the city of Qinnasrin is a city called
Hadir Tayyi”. In it are dwellings of the Tayyi’.86°

14. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih the secretary mentioned it in the Book
of Regions in his listing of the subdistricts of the military district ( jund) of
Qinnasrin and al-Awasim, saying: The subdistrict of Sarmin. Its people are from
the (tribal faction of) Qays.56!

15. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih the secretary mentioned it in the Book of
Regions, saying: The city of Kafartab and al-Atmim. Its people are from various
tribes of the Yemen, mostly from the Kinda.s62

856 Ibid., 1123.

857 Ibid. 1:125, repeating parts of fragments c5 and c6 above.

858 Ibid. 1129.

859 Ibid. 1134. Ibn al-Adim adds that "these two place are subordinated to the subdistrict of

al-Jazr. Martahwan is near Ma'arrat Misrin."

860 Ibid. 1:138.

861 Ibid. 1:139.

862 Ibid. 1141.

222 FRAGMENTS

16. Ibn Wadih the secretary said in the Book of Regions: The city of Apamea. It
is an ancient Roman city, in ruins, on a large lake. Its people are from the tribes
of Udhra and Bahra’.863

17. In mentioning Hama, Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih the secretary said: It is
an ancient city on a river called the Orontes. The people of this city are from
the tribal faction of Yemen, mostly from the Bahra and the Tanūkh.864

18. I read in the Book of Regions composed by Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih
the secretary: The city of al-Massisa. The Commander of the Faithful al-Mansur
built the city during his reign—before that it had been a garrison. The first to
cross the Jabal al-Lukkàm range and reach al-Massisa was Malik b. al-Harith
al-Ashtar al-Nakha‘l,8® under the authority of Abū ‘Ubayda b. al-Jarrah. There
used to be a small fort there that ‘Abdallah b. ‘Abd al-Malik built when he went
to fight on the summer campaign.?66

19. We return to the words of Ibn Wadih: Al-Mansūr departed for the Thughūr
and he built there the great city of al-Massisa on a river called the Jayhan.
He transferred prisoners from all quarters and other people to the city of al-
Massisa. The Commander of the Faithful al-Ma’mun built a city called Kafar-
bayya alongside it, so that the river known as the Jayhan flowed between the
two cities. Across the river is a great, ancient, stone-vaulted bridge. The city of
al-Massisa is on the west bank of the Jayhan, and the city of Kafarbayya is on
the east bank. Its populace is a mixture of peoples.°67

20. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih the secretary said: The Commander of the
Faithful al-Mahdi the son of al-Mansur built ‘Ayn Zarba and completed it.998

21. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih the secretary said in his book: The city
of Adhana was built by the Commander of the Faithful al-Rashid, and com-
pleted by the Commander of the Faithful Muhammad (al-Amin) the son of

863 Ibid., 1143.

864 Ibid. 1:150. Ibn al-Adim adds that al-Ya‘qubi lists Hama under the subdistricts of Hims.

865 Malik al-Ashtar (d. 37/657) was a prominent commander involved in the conquests of
Syria and Iraq. He later emerged as a supporter of the caliph ‘Ali.

866 Ibnal-Adīm, 1156. ‘Abdallah b. ‘Abd al-Malik (d. 132/750) was a son of the Umayyad caliph
‘Abd al-Malik and a prominent commander in Umayyad times.

867 Ibid.

868 Ibid. 1167. Al-Mahdi was ‘Abbasid caliph from 158 to 169/775 to 785.

FRAGMENTS 223

al-Rashid.86? Located there at this time because of its spaciousness are the res-
idences of the governors of the Thughūr. It is on the river that is called Sayhan.
Its people are a mixture of clients of the caliphs and others.87°

22. Ahmad b. Abi Ya'qub b. Wadih the secretary said in his book after mention-
ing al-Massisa, Adhana, and Tarsus: In addition to these three cities that we
have mentioned, the Syrian Thughūr also include the cities of ‘Ayn Zarba, al-
Harüniyya, and al-Kanisa al-Muhtaraqa (the Burned Church). The Commander
of the Faithful (al-Mahdi) the son of al-Mansur built ‘Ayn Zarba and completed
it. Al-Rashid built al-Harüniyya during the reign of al-Mahdi, while he was an
heir. Al-Rashid also built al-Kanisa al-Muhtaraqa."!

23. Ibn Wadih the secretary said in the Book of Regions: Tarsus is a city that the
Commander of the Faithful al-Rashid built in a plain at the foot of a mountain
through which one crosses into Roman territory. The building of it took place
in the year 170/786 at the beginning of his reign, at the hands of Abt Sulaym
Faraj al-Turki al-Khadim. Located there is a flowing river that comes from the
mountains of the Romans until it splits up in the middle (of the city). It has a
mixed population of people from every quarter of the world.8”2

24. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih the secretary mentioned in the Book of
Regions: The Syrian Thughur include the cities of ‘Ayn Zarba, al-Hārūniyya, and
al-Kanisa al-Muhtaraqa ... Al-Rashid built al-Harüniyya in the days of al-Mahdi,
while he was an heir.873

25. Ibn Wādih the secretary said: You descend from the Jabal al-Lukkām to a
city on the coast of the Green Sea called Alexandretta (al-Iskandarūna). Ibn
Abi Da'üd al-Iyādī built it in the reign of al-Wathiq.®”4

26. I copied the following from the Book of Regions composed by Ahmad b.
Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih the secretary: The cities belonging to the Jaziran Thughūr:
Mar‘ash, al-Hadath, Zabatra, Sumaysat, Hisn Mansur, Hisn Ziyad, and Malatya,
which is the chief city. It is an ancient city, which the Romans destroyed. Abu

869 Al-Amin succeeded his father as caliph in 193/809 and reigned until 198/813.
870 Ibnal-Adim, 1171.

871 Ibid., 1:173, partly repeating fragment C20.

872 Ibid., 1177-178.

873 Ibid, 1:219, duplicating material from fragment C22.

874 Ibid, 1:220.

224 FRAGMENTS

Jafar al-Mansur [re]built it in the year 139/756, and he set around it one set
of city walls, without an external enclosure wall. He transferred a number of
Arab tribes there, and so it is divided into "sevenths”: a seventh for Sulaym and
the rest of Qays, a seventh for the Hawasiyya, a seventh for al-Ra‘iya and the
descendants of Ja‘wana, a seventh for Taym, a seventh for Rabi‘a, a seventh for
the (tribal faction of) Yemen, and a seventh for Hawazin. Malatya is on level
ground, surrounded by the mountains of the Romans. Its water comes from
springs, watercourses, and the Euphrates.975

27. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih the secretary mentioned in the Book of
Regions: The subdistrict of Sumaysat. It is a city on the Euphrates. A mixture
of peoples lives there.876

28. Ibn Wadih mentioned in his book in the account of the subdistricts of Qin-
nasrin and al-‘Awasim: The two districts of Dulūk and Ra‘ban are contiguous.977

29. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub b. Wadih mentioned, among the subdistricts of the
military district ( jund) of Qinnasrin and al-‘Awasim, the subdistrict of Qurus,
which is an ancient city populated by tribesmen from the tribal faction of Qays.
The majority of them are of the family of al-‘Abbas b. Zufar al-Hilali.8”8

30. Ahmad b. Abi Ya'qub b. Wādih the secretary mentioned (Kaysūm) in his
book: It is a magnificent, impregnable city. Nasr b. Shabath fortified himself
there when he rebelled, and al-Ma'mün marched there.879

31. Ahmad b. Abi Ya'gūb b. Wadih the secretary mentioned the following in
the Book of Regions, while enumerating the subdistricts of Qinnasrin and al-
‘Awasim: The subdistrict of al-Tüma. Located there are the sulphur springs that
flow into thermal baths. The baths are at a village called Jindaris. They have
a marvelous stone-vaulted building. People come there from every quarter to

875 Ibid., 1252.

876 Ibid., 1257.

877 Ibid, 1:259.

878 Ibid., 1:263. Al-‘Abbas b. Zufar was a prominent tribal leader and governor under al-Rashid.

879 Ibid., 1:265. During the Civil War (193-198/809-813) between the caliph al-Amin and his
brother al-Ma'mün, a bandit chieftain named Nasr b. Shabath al-‘Uqaylī at the head of
some disaffected Syrian and Iraqi troops rebelled against the central government at Raqqa,
before fortifying himself at Kaysūm.

FRAGMENTS 225

bathe on account of the illnesses affecting them. It is not known whence that
sulphur water comes or where it flows.88°

32. As for what Ahmad b. Ya‘qub the secretary said in his book on Routes and
Kingdoms in reproof of Egypt, namely: "It stands between a dank, putrid river
abounding in malign effluvia that generate illnesses and spoil food and moun-
tains and desiccated, barren desert in which no green thing grows because of
the intensity of the dryness, and in which no water source flows ..." These are
the words of a bigot that violate consensus and through the stupidity of their
utterance arrive at that which hearts shun and the ears reject. Their defective-
ness is sufficiently clear from the fact that he brings reproof against the Nile,
for which reason and lore provide proof of excellence, and he looks with scorn
at the Muqattam (mountain), which tradition cites for its noble qualities.58!

D Passages Attributed to al-Ya‘qubi in Ibn al-Daya, Kitab al-Mukafa‘a
wa-Husn al-Uqba

The following six passages are different in kind from the previous fragments
included at the end of the translation of the Geography. The latter fragments
probably derive from parts of the Geography now lost, or from a lost treatise
on scents and perfumes, and therefore can be said to come ultimately from
the pen of al-Ya‘qubi, though they may have undergone some alteration when
other authors cited them in their works. The following passages, however, come
from a single literary work, the Kitab al-Mukafa'a wa-husn al-'ugbā (The Book
of Recompense and Good Requital) by Abu Ja‘far Ahmad b. Yusuf, known

880 Ibid., 1:478.

881 Al-Qalqashandi, 3:310. Here bahr has been translated as “river” rather than “sea,” as al-
Qalqashandi clearly understood it as referring to the Nile. However, the text is ambiguous:
al-Ya'qübi (or whoever the author is) may in fact be referring to the Red Sea. The passage
is problematic, and the editor of al-Qalqashandi identifies the source as the now-lost
Kitab al-masālik wa-l-mamalik [Book of Routes and Kingdoms] of Husayn b. Ahmad b.
Ya'qüb al-Hamdani, a famous geographer of the Arabian peninsula. But elsewhere when
al-Qalqashandi cites "Ahmad b. Ya'gūb the secretary” he is clearly citing extant passages
of al-Ya‘qubi’s Buldan (cf. al-Qalqashandi, 4:368, 369, 388, 390), which other authors also
sometimes call the Book of Routes and Kingdoms (cf. Fragment A1). This being so, this harsh
passage nevertheless does not reflect the content of al-Ya‘qubi’s section on Egypt in the
Buldān (ed. Leiden, 330 ff.) as we have it. Perhaps, if it is indeed al-Ya‘qubi’s, then, like his
poetry on Egyptian matters, it comes from a different work or a different version of the
Buldān.

226 FRAGMENTS

as Ibn al-Daya, a younger contemporary who may have had contact with al-
Ya‘qubi in Tülünid Egypt—at least that is the implication of the formula by
which Ibn al-Daya introduces each anecdote: Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub (al-Ya‘qub1)
recounted to me (haddathant Ahmad ibn Abt Yagūb). In collections of hadith
or legal texts, this formula normally implies direct oral transmission, with
preservation of the exact words of the source. In historical texts the evidence
of such direct transmission and verbatim citation is not always clear, and
it is even less clear in a work such as that of Ibn al-Daya, which is not a
work of Islamic jurisprudence, history, or geography. Instead, Ibn al-Daya’s
book is a literary collection of historical anecdotes, arranged topically, not
chronologically. It “consists of three sections containing, respectively, stories
about rewards for good deeds, punishments for evil deeds, and timely escapes
from difficult situations” (F. Rosenthal in E12, s.v. Ibn al-Daya). Although Ibn al-
Daya implies that he heard six of these stories from al-Ya‘qubi, who in turn had
them from his father or grandfather, the literary style of these stories must be
ascribed almost entirely to Ibn al-Daya. On the other hand, the stories, if they
are authentic, do show us something about al-Ya‘qubi's interest in the ethical
implications of the behavior of historical figures, an interest that manifested
itself in a somewhat different way in his short work entitled Mushakalat al-nàs
li-azmanihim (The Adaptation of Men to Their Times), which focuses on how
the virtues and vices of leaders, especially the caliphs, influence, for better or
worse, the virtues and vices of the society as a whole. The six stories that Ibn
al-Daya attributes to al-Ya‘qubi show how an act of benevolence can be repaid,
often years later and in unexpected ways, and, conversely, how a malicious act
can be punished. This mining of history for ethical content is not alien to al-
Ya‘qubi's interest in the History or Adaptation, although there is no evidence
that these passages ever formed part of either work. Nevertheless, they merit
presentation here as casting light on al-Ya'gūbīs interests and those of his
contemporary writers.

1. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub recounted to me on the authority of his father:882 Yahya
b. Khalid b. Barmak adopted al-Fadl b. Sahl and treated him as a son, and
Yahya's sons treated al-Fadl as their brother. Yahya then attached al-Fadl to al-

882 Ed. Shakir, pp. 45—48 (No. 21). Background: The anecdote is set during the caliphate of al-
Rashid (r. 170—193/786—809), when Yahya b. Khalid b. Barmak was serving as vizier.

FRAGMENTS 227

Mamūn.333 Yahya b. Khalid had a good knowledge of astronomy, and al-Fadl
was also proficient in the subject. The two men agreed about what the stars
foretold of the fortunes of the Barmakids, and both foresaw the happy fate that
would befall al-Fadl. It was as if each could discern his ultimate fate.

When al-Rashid turned against the Barmakids, al-Fadl himself was protected
because of his place in al-Ma’miun’s service, but he had too little influence on
al-Rashid to help Yahya and his sons. Al-Fadl therefore wrote to Yahya: "My lord,
your situation grieves me, but there is little I can do to defend you so as to
release him from his vow in this your crisis.%% But I hope to do more on your
behalf once I come into my good fortune.”

Ibn Abi Ya qüb continued, saying that Ahmad b. Abi Khalid al-Ahwals$5
related to him: "What I learned about Yahya’s desperate state filled me with
anguish. When I recalled how well he had treated me and how generous he
had been to me, I became utterly despondent. As I was in possession of 4,000
dinars, I divided it into two. Taking one half, I managed to gain entry to where
they were imprisoned, and I presented it to Yahya b. Khalid. He said: It would be
wrong for us to allow you to take such a risk on our behalf or for us to promise
you something from us whose fulfillment fortune will not allow. Our time is
over. But if you think that our situation will improve, keep possession of your
money. I replied: I meant only to repay some of what I owe:

“So he took a clean sheet of paper and wrote on it: ‘Abu l-Abbas,886 may God
keep you! This man has been steadfast throughout this trial of ours and has
shown us kindness despite his despair over our fate. I would remind you of our
time together, and ask that you pay him his due in my stead,®°’ and lighten the
debt that he has placed upon me. May God assist you and provide for you’ Then
he folded the sheet, cut it in half crosswise, and said to me: 'Keep this half with
you. Don't misplace it; for, if you do, much good fortune will escape you” He
then distributed the money to those persons who had suffered need because
of what had befallen him. I departed from his company. He had left me with no

883 Inother words, Yahya b. Khalid used his influence to place his adopted son, al-Fadl b. Sahl,
in the entourage and service of al-Rashid's son, the future caliph al-Ma'mün.

884 This refers to al-Rashid's vow to act against the Barmakids.

885 Another figure from al-Ma'mün's entourage, in the service of al-Fadl b. Sahl and later
secretary to al-Ma'mün. Note that the chronology (Ahmad b. Abi Khalid died in 211/826—
827) makes direct communication between him and al-Ya'qübi unlikely. See the article by
D. Sourdel in E12, s.v. Ahmad b. Abi Khalid al-Ahwal.

886 Addressing al-Ma'mün by his familiar name (kunya).

887 That is, the debt for his kindness.

228 FRAGMENTS

hope that he would ever regain his standing, and I had no idea of what the half
sheet he had given me would mean for me.

"The authority of the Barmakids ended. Al-Rashid died in Tus, and al-Fadl
b. Sahl gained influence over al-Ma'mün in Khurasan and served as his deputy
in all his affairs. A power struggle broke out between al-Amin and al-Ma'mun,
and when al-Ma'mūn triumphed over his brother, al-Fadl b. Sahl was confirmed
as al-Ma'mun's vizier. Al-Mamun’s heralds announced the news across all the
provinces. I, meanwhile, remained unemployed and in ever greater need, for
I lacked anyone to support me or take an interest in me. Then one day, while
I was at home, with scarcely a scrap to eat, and wearing a shabby garment—I
possessed only one dress robe that I wore when I rode out—my servant entered
suddenly to announce that a group of Tahir b. al-Husayn's men were at the door.
I put on my riding gown and let them in. Leading them was a man who, it was
clear to me, held me in great esteem.

"He said: ‘The commander Tahir requests your presence! I set off immedi-
ately. When I entered, he had me brought forward and showed me every honor.
Tahir then said: ‘I received a message from the vizier,888 may God keep him, ask-
ing that I spare no effort in preparing you for an audience with him. You have in
your possession half of the note that Yahya b. Khalid gave you. The vizier indi-
cated that I was to provide you with 2,000 dinars with which to outfit yourself
and your entourage properly:

"My spirit soared and my hope returned. I took the money and set out
with Tahir's man. When I entered al-Fadl b. Sahl's presence, he welcomed me
graciously and asked me about the half of the note, which I produced. He
whispered something to one of his servants who stepped out and then returned
with a piece of paper. He joined one piece to the other and they formed a whole.
When he finished reading it, he wept and said: ‘May God have mercy on Abu
l-Abbas.59? How well acquainted he was with the vicissitudes of fate, how to
elicit thankfulness in their midst, and how to avoid censure"

"Then he presented me to al-Ma'mün. My standing rose under him until I
became one of his closest officials, someone he trusted with his mostimportant
affairs."

888 Thatis, al-Fadl b. Sahl.
889 Referring to Yahya b. Khalid b. Barmak by his familiar name (kunya).

FRAGMENTS 229

2. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub recounted to me:89° Al-Mahdi disapproved of Hartha-
ma b. A'yan's malicious treatment of Ma'n b. Za'ida?! and ordered that Hartha-
ma be exiled to North Africa.9?? But al-Rashid spoke to al-Mahdi on behalf of
Harthama and gradually allayed his anger. Afterward, Ma'n died; Harthama's
situation improved, and he felt grateful to al-Rashid for what he had done.
The caliphate then devolved on Musa al-Hadi,®9? over whom Harthama gained
considerable influence. Ata certain point, al-Hadi decided to remove al-Rashid
as heir and assembled the notables for the appointment of his son as heir
apparent. Harthama learned of this, and, recalling al-Rashid's generous deed,
he feigned illness. Al-Hadi assembled the notables and called on them to
remove al-Rashid in favor of his own son. They agreed and pledged their
support.

He then summoned Harthama and asked him: “Harthama, will you swear
allegiance?" Harthama responded: "Commander of the Faithful, my right hand
isalready taken up with my oath of allegiance to you, my left hand with the oath
of allegiance to your brother.$?* So with what hand shall I swear allegiance? By
God, Commander of the Faithful, do not impose on people, by exacting the
oath of loyalty to your son, more than what your father imposed on behalf of
your brother in exacting the oath of allegiance to him! Whoever violates the
first oath will violate the second! Were it not that this assembly considers itself
to be swearing under duress and secretly thinks about you the opposite of what
they openly profess, they would have abstained.”

Al-Hādī said to the assembly: "Shame on the lot of you! This man, my client,
has told me the truth when all of you have lied to me. He has been honest with
me, when all of you have deceived me!” So al-Rashid got what al-Hadi intended
for him.895

890 Ed. Shakir, pp. 61-62 (No. 29).

891 A military commander who served both the late Umayyads and the early ‘Abbasids; see
the article by H. Kennedy in E12, s.v. Man b. Za'ida.

892 Arabic al-Maghrib al-Aqsa (the Farthest West).

893 Musa al-Hadi and Harün al-Rashid were brothers, sons of al-Mahdi, who had designated
al-Hadi as heir apparent, with al-Rashid second in the line of succession. However, al-
Mahdi had second thoughts late in his life and was about to remove al-Hadi in favor of al-
Rashid, but died before taking action. Al-Hadi succeeded to the caliphate and proceeded
vigorously to suppress any possible claim to the caliphate by al-Rashid. See the article by
D. Sourdel in z7?, s.v. al-Hadi Ila 'L-hakk.

894 Thatis, al-Rashid, as second in the line of succession.

895 Namely, the caliphate.

230 FRAGMENTS

3. I was informed by Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub,®9° who said that his father told
him the following anecdote on the authority of his grandfather Wadih, the
client of al-Mansur.$?? Wadih said: “I was in the presence of al-Mansur. He
had summoned a man who had once served Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik and
was questioning him about Hisham's conduct, a subject that fascinated al-
Mansur. But whenever the man mentioned Hisham's name, he added ‘May
God have mercy on him, which annoyed all of us. Finally, al-Rabī%?% asked
the man, 'How often are you going to invoke God's mercy upon the enemy of
the Commander of the Faithful?’ The man replied to al-Rabi* ‘The court of the
Commander of the Faithful is the most appropriate place for showing gratitude
to a benefactor and rewarding someone for his benevolence. Hishàm adorned
my neck with a necklace that only the man who washes my corpse can undo.8??
‘And what, asked al-Mansur, ‘is this necklace?’ The man replied, ‘He adorned

896 Ed. Shakir, p. 66 (No. 32). Background: The anecdote is set during the reign of the second
‘Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur (r. 136—158/754—75), who is portrayed as fascinated with stories
about the Umayyad dynasty, which his family had overthrown. His historical interest
in the previous dynasty is shown as strained when he interviews a former member of
the entourage of the Umayyad caliph Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik (r. 105-125/724-43) who
not only provides information, but expresses sympathy for his former master, angering
officials at al.Mansür's court. Unexpectedly, al-Mansur rewards the man for his loyalty to
his former master and his honesty.

897 The Geography and the History provide information about al-Ya'qübi's grandfather Wadih.
The section of the Geography on Baghdad (ed. Leiden, 234) states: “In fact, my ancestors
were residents there, and one of them was its governor (tawalla amraha).’ The Geography
(ed. Leiden, 242 and 248) states that Wadih, along with two other dignitaries, is said to have
been put in charge, governed, or administered (the language is vague) the quarter extend-
ing from the Kufa Gate (Bab al-Kūfa) to the Syrian Gate (Bab al-Sham). The Geography (ed.
Leiden, 246 and 247) gives the location of Wadih’s estate. The History (ed. Leiden, 2:447)
notes that Wadih served as governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan under al-Mansur. The list-
ing (ed. Leiden 2:462) of Wadih as one of al-Mansür's officials who was a client (mawla),
as opposed to those who were “of the Arabs" (min al-Arab), confirms his non-Arab origins.
Finally, ed. Leiden 2:477, notes that al-Mansūr's successor, al-Mahdi, in connection with
his rebuilding of the Ka‘ba in 160/777, wrote to Wadih, now serving as governor of Egypt,
to "send money to Mecca and to provide tools and whatever was required in the way of
gold, mosaics, and chains for the lanterns.’

898 Al-Rabr b. Yunus, the chamberlain and vizier of al-Mansur and his two successors.

899 Thecollar ornecklace, represents the favor that Hisham, during his lifetime, bestowed on
the speaker. Cf. the proverb cited in Lane, Lexicon, 7:2616, s.v. gilada: “Thy beneficence is
a permanent badge (qilada) on my neck which day and night will not loose.’

FRAGMENTS 231

me with favor in his lifetime and relieved me of need for anyone else after his
death” Al-Mansūr said to him: ‘You have spoken well, may God bless you. By
properly recompensing favors,?° one incites to good deeds and multiplies acts
of benevolence’ He then brought the man into his inner circle.”

4. I was informed by Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub,2™ who said that his father told him
the following anecdote on the authority of his grandfather Wadih, who said:
“I heard Khalid b. Sahm, who had been a member of Marwan b. Muhammad
al-Ja/di's??? inner circle, recount to al-Mansur how Marwan once asked him
for a slave girl of his whom he loved. Marwan then falsely accused him of
misdeeds, imprisoned him for a time, and took the slave girl from him. Khalid
was an intelligent and courageous man, and so, when Abu Muslim gained the
upper hand and routed Marwan’s forces??? he released him from prison and
promised to treat him well.

“Khalid said: ‘Marwan used to laugh at the clothes of the men in black.9°4
He would say, "If we were to take them prisoner, we couldn't make them look
any uglier and shameful than they have rendered themselves!” But when he was
forced to confront them in battle and attack them, I saw that he was frightened
to engage them in combat. He said to me: “Abu Yazid"—he had never addressed
me so familiarly before905—"T am really frightened. Does it show on me?" I
replied: “Not at all, Commander of the Faithful!” I was only trying to flatter
him—in fact I was pleased by the change in his fortunes. He said, “I find that

900 Arabic bi-husn al-mukafaa, echoing the title of Ibn al-Daya’s work, Kitab al-Mukafa'a wa-
husn al-'uqbà [The Book of Recompense and Fair Requital].

go1_ Ed. Shakir, pp. 83—84 (No. 43). Background: The anecdote, again told on the authority of al-
Ya‘qubi’s grandfather Wadih, illustrates how an evil action, in this case the last Umayyad
caliph's wresting away a courtier's beloved slave girl, bears fruit later when the same
courtier begrudges the caliph his true opinion and deliberately leads him to choose the
worse of two alternatives, thereby leading to the caliph's death. The courtier, Khalid b.
Sahm, survived his master's death and eventually was freed. Now, years later, at the court
of the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Mansür he recounts his experience.

9o2 Marwan 11, the last Umayyad caliph (r. 127-132/744-750).

903 This refers to the ‘Abbasid victory over the Umayyads in 132/750.

904 That is, the ‘Abbasids, who fought under black banners and wore black to distinguish
themselves.

905 The Arabic literally says: “He had never addressed me by my kunya before that day" The
combination of “Abū” with a name or term, typically used as an honorific, nickname, or
nom de guerre, is the kunya.

232 FRAGMENTS

I don’t have courage to attack them.” So I replied: “If that is the case, protect
yourself from them by fleeing. Your horses are swifter than theirs.’

‘He fled, and Abt Muslim’s men stopped pursuing him. When he reached
his baggage train, he said to me: “I have decided to make for Byzantine ter-
ritory” This, in fact, was his best option, but I begrudged him my advice and
deliberately misled him. I said: “Would you have these young sons of yours and
your entourage take refuge with an unbeliever who would only take heart and
whose situation would be much improved? And perhaps your sons will be so
taken with what they see in his realm that they turn Christian! No, you should
continue on until you reach Egypt, where you will find men and horses and be
able to choose what to do.’

‘He accepted my advice, and we set out. When we reached Egypt, he pro-
ceeded to the countryside, while I sought protection in a settled area because
of a falling-out between us. He was killed at Busir al-Ushmünayn. "906

5. I was informed by Ahmad b. Abi Ya'qub,9??? who said that his father told him
the following anecdote on the authority of his grandfather Wadih, who said:
“During the reign of al-Mansur, hostility developed between (the future caliph)
al-Mahdi and his brother, Ja‘far b. Abi Ja‘far. Masqala b. Habib used to report to
Ja‘far displeasing things that al-Mahdi had said. Al-Mahdi could not retaliate
against Masqala or punish him in any way, but when he became caliph, he
vowed to take his life, so Masqala went into hiding.

‘Masqala told me that his hiding place did not suit him, so he ventured out
furtively seeking another. One of his enemies chanced upon him and shouted
to the night watch,9°8 ‘This man is wanted by the Commander of the Faithful!’
[Masqala said:] ‘The watchmen rushed for me. I was certain that death was at
hand. But just at that moment, as they held me, Ma‘n b. Za'ida passed by, so I
called to him: "Master! Abū l-Mundhir! Rescue me, may God protect you.” So he

906 Because Büsir was an element in several Egyptian toponyms, it was usual to distinguish
them from each other, as al-Ya‘qubi has done here: Büsir al-Ushmünayn means ‘the Büsir
that is near al-Ushmūnayn, which places the site in Middle Egypt, near modern El Ash-
munein in Minya Governorate. There are two traditions about Marwan's death; both locate
it at a place called Busir, but differ as to which Büsir; see the article by G. Wiet in EP, s.v.
Büsir or Abüsir.

907 Ed. Shākir pp. 119-120 (No. 60).

908 Arabic ashāb al-arbà', the individuals charged with monitoring entry to and thus the
security of urban neighborhoods.

FRAGMENTS 233

said to the watchmen and to the man who was holding me, “Release him!” The
man replied, “And what shall I say to the Commander of the Faithful?” Man
replied, “You will tell him that he is with me.” He mounted me upon one of
his pack camels and took me to his home. When his dinner was served, I ate
with him and his sons. As soon as we finished, he was told that a messenger
had arrived from the Commander of the Faithful. He turned to his sons and
said, “Swear to me that you will not hand over Masqala, for he has sought my
protection.” They promised him as much, and he rode off. As soon as al-Mahdi
saw him, he asked, “Ma‘n, are you granting someone protection from me?” Ma‘n
answered, “Yes, Commander of the Faithful.” Al-Mahdi said, “And you admit
as much?” Ma‘n replied: “Commander of the Faithful, I have killed for your
dynasty some 30,000 enemies. Am I not entitled to extend protection under
it to one enemy?” The caliph replied, “Yes, you may claim that right, and we
hereby grant you his life.” Ma‘n said: “Commander of the Faithful, this is not
how someone like you grants life! When you grant a person his life, make it, by
your generosity, a life of comfort.” The caliph replied, “Let him be given 1,000
dinars.” Ma‘n replied, “Commander of the Faithful, your gift should not be the
same as the gift of your servant Ma‘n, for that is the amount that I have given
him” So the caliph said, “Give the man under Mars protection 2,000 dinars.”

1»

So I went home, 3,000 dinars in hand and free from fear.

6. Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub told me the following anecdote on the authority of
his father:?0? Jibrīl b. Bukhtīshū‘ used to assist the physicians at the court of
al-Rashid.9!° He was a man of integrity but very poor. His salary at that time
was only three hundred dirhams a month. On a certain occasion al-Rashid
fainted with no previous sign of illness. The consensus of the doctors was that
he would perish. When Ibn Bukhtīshū' was informed, he said, "There is only
one treatment: they must cup him." Muhammad al-Amin?! said at first, "I fear

909 Ed. Shakir, pp. 144-145 (No. 72).

910 Jibril b. Bukhtīshū' belonged to a distinguished Christian family of physicians. His father,
Bukhtishü' b. Jurjis, was al-Rashid's physician-in-chief until his death in 185/801. Jibril, the
son, did not immediately succeed to his father's position, as indicated by the detail that he
“was an assistant” (Arabic kana yakhlufu l-atibbā” means literally, “used to come behind
the physicians”) Al-Rashid will refer to him as a young man (ghulam). On his career, see
the article by D. Sourdel in E1>, s.v. Bukhtishü'.

911 Al-Rashid's son and a future caliph.

234 FRAGMENTS

that we might endanger his life.” But then he said: “Now that we are in despair
about his condition, the right thing to do is to try it."

They summoned the cupper. He gathered the blood into his two neck veins,
while al-Rashid lay prostrate, then extracted two cupping glasses of his blood.
Al-Rashid opened his eyes, called for food, ate, and fell asleep. When he woke
up, al-Ma’miin?!? told him how the operation had gone, and well-wishers were
allowed to enter. When they finished, he addressed them: “You commanders
and doctors, I appointed you to protect my life, but when a crisis befell me,
only this young man, apart from God Almighty, was of any use to me. He earns
little from me, while all of you earn much. So right the imbalance: let each of
you give him a share of what I so graciously bestow on you, so that he receives
from you proper compensation for the protection he has afforded me.” The
notables hastened to give Jibril estates, homes, and money, until he became the
wealthiest man in the realm. His wealth and that of his sons increased until it
came to equal that of the caliphs themselves.

912 Al-Rashīd's other son and a future caliph.

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